Misplaced Timing
by Zeoniu Zekial Kal Leos
Summary: What happens when you take one space-time teleportation jutsu, a dimensional-shifting space-time jutsu, and the natural energies of Sage Mode and stir them all together? One timeline misplaced Naruto Uzumaki. But the past is not always what it seems when your destination is decided by chance, and scheming with foreknowledge can be just as difficult when events unfold otherwise.
1. Chapter 1: Convincing the Hokage

**A/N: By the time the latest chapter goes live, all prior issues regarding terminology and upper/lowercase spelling should be cleansed. For those of you re-reading, you should also notice a few differences beginning in the second chapter onward with the storyline that, while changing how we get there, do not ultimately alter the end result of where we are as of chapter 25. Revisions done through the end of chapter 4, leaving 21 to go as of 10/16/13.  
**

* * *

The day was passing fairly slowing for once, Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi thought idly, reviewing the sheet of paper held in his left hand as his right hovered with a pen nearby to sign his affirmation.

So far Naruto had been remarkably quiet, and the report given to him on the boy's daily activities were a cause for some worry.

"_A day with Naruto lost in thought is a night of mischief just waiting to unfold_." Those were the words he had murmured at the time he had read the scroll, and indeed they came unbidden to his mind again as he went over the same paragraph for the third time in so many minutes.

Finally catching on to what he was doing, Hiruzen set the unsigned sheet and pen back down atop the rest and stretched, feeling every bit his age for the moment.

The massacre of the Uchiha clan only six months ago had left more stress lines and doubt behind than any event since the Kyūbi's attack eight years before, especially with the loss of Minato and Kushina, and he could feel the weight of his choices as Hokage that had failed to prevent the Uchiha situation from spiraling out of control only growing heavier with each day.

Between those thoughts, and his usual duties in addition to trying to keep the villagers in line against Naruto and the boy's own rarely-harmless pranks against them in turn, looking over the stack of paperwork he had to handle was quickly sliding out of his attention span.

"Perhaps a few words may deter him from whatever it is on his mind, and a few more ought to relieve my own from that particular distraction," he mused aloud.

* * *

As was to be expected, Naruto was found at his seemingly favorite place, the ramen stand.

Unexpectedly, he was not sitting at it nor eating, but rather standing a short distance off and staring blankly ahead. As Hiruzen approached he cleared his throat to try and alert the child, but no reaction occurred.

"Good luck with that, Hokage-sama. He's been standing there for the better part of an hour now. If his chest wasn't rising and falling, I'd say he was dead." Teuchi called out in a quiet, concerned tone from behind the bar.

Hiruzen frowned even as he gave a brisk nod of his head toward the shop owner.

He placed a hand to Naruto's right shoulder as he came around and knelt to the ground slowly, looking into the distant but not glazed-over effect in the boy's eyes, and silently performed a variance of the technique that young Yamashiro-kun had picked up not long ago for mind-reading.

What he felt was a strong presence he was unaccustomed to when inspecting Naruto's mind, one that went beyond the usual vague sense of rage associated with the bijū dwelling somewhere deep within, but more akin to a sense of inherent strength.

Before he could inquire any further Naruto blinked several times in rapid succession and looked up at him.

"Ah.. Old man Hokage..." he greeted somewhat slowly. Hiruzen did not move or release his grip on the boy's shoulders at the words, instead examining the child's eyes carefully.

"Naruto? Is there anything you'd like to tell me? Any... _adverse reaction's _you've been feeling lately?" He inquired softly.

Naruto didn't seem to notice the intensity of the elder shinobi's expression just yet, but after a moment he did glance around at their surroundings and then smiled widely as if in remembrance.

"Could it wait 'til after a few bowls of ramen?" He asked in turn.

That seemed to satisfy the Sandaime for the moment, and he again nodded his head.

"Very well." He agreed vocally, letting go and rising to his feet quickly. Naruto grinned and launched himself at the nearest seat, placing his hands onto the table amicably.

* * *

Several empty bowls of ramen noodles and the better part of twenty minutes later and the duo were within the Hokage's office.

"I believe you had something to say?" Hiruzen reminded him after they were each sitting across from one another.

"Ah, yeah. About that..." the boy trailed off uncertainly.

His mind was racing through how best to explain what he had to explain, but seeing the Third alive and well again was putting him off of jumping straight into the thick of things.

"Yes... ?" Hiruzen pressed after several moments of silence.

Naruto grimaced. _There's no easy way around this, he_ has _to know to make the right preparations_.

"You know the Kyūbi attack eight years ago? The one that required dad to sacrifice himself in order to seal the fox inside of me?" He asked awkwardly.

Hiruzen looked more than a little surprised at the mentioning of Minato as _dad_, and silently made a note to find out _who _it was that had revealed that particular set of state secrets to Naruto, but rather than interrupt wherever this was going and possibly scare the boy off of his point just yet, the Hokage merely nodded his head.

"Well, uh.. it wasn't wholly the fox's fault. I mean, it probably hurt a lot of people and I know it killed some of them, and nearly destroyed Konoha, which I'm sure it was just as happy to do after so long cooped up, but it was kind of directed to the task." Naruto explained in a rush.

Hiruzen cocked an eyebrow at him. "And you know this, not to mention are able to confirm it, how?" He questioned in a mildly unamused tone.

Naruto met his gaze evenly. "I kind of met the guy at fault, among other things. _Madara Uchiha_." He spoke sharply.

At that name Hiruzen grew still and his eyes became genuinely cold, recalling quite clearly the second-hand information of that night, and when he spoke his lips hardly moved.

"_When_?" He demanded without any of his usual warmth to it, knowing for a fact that there was little to no chance that man could still be alive, and running through the ways the child before him could have come to associate Madara to the Kyūbi incident.

The list was fairly short; either one of the few older Jōnin present for that battle had spoken out against his orders, which would cover why Naruto would refer to the Fourth as his father, or the seals preventing the Kyūbi from accessing Naruto's mind were beginning to crumble.

"Ah..." glancing around them and feeling for any other familiar chakra sources nearby, Naruto leaned in closer. "Can I get your word that you won't repeat any of this to Danzō or the rest of the Council?" He asked evasively, a sudden look of wariness present in his blue gaze.

Hiruzen did not answer him for a long moment, but at length he gave his response. "That will depend on where you are going with this." His voice had not changed.

Naruto sighed. "I'm going to meet him in about eight more years, as history goes," he stated evenly.

Seeing the Hokage's unamused look he hurried forward quickly. "To make a long story short, he's still out there as a part of the Akatsuki, trying to gather up the rest of the jinchûriki and their bijū to merge back into a single ten-tailed beast again!" He explained in a rush, hoping to convince the man that had been like a grandfather to him for so long now.

Silence filled the large room after that as Hiruzen processed what Naruto was saying; the boy seemed genuinely confident in what he spoke, but than again he always stood by what he said, true or no.

It seemed more likely that what he said would align to the second possibility.

"I am most displeased that you would dishonor the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage in such a manner. When did the Kyūbi manage to convince you to let it have this much control, Naruto?" He asked.

Naruto grimaced again. "It didn't," he stated. "It's still locked up with dad's seal in place inside of that stupid sewer, growling angrily at me."

"Please do not lie to me. I've _seen _how much different you are within." Hiruzen countered.

Naruto's look changed to puzzlement. "You did?" He asked in surprise.

"As I have for several years now, to insure you do not succumb to the Kyūbi's control or tainted chakra. It would appear that I should have been more vigilant in that manner." Hiruzen answered, almost too softly to hear, and almost to himself more so than the boy before him.

A sick feeling grew in the pit of his stomach as Naruto heard those words.

"You've been _spying _on me?" He questioned in disbelief.

The Sandaime realized how his words could be viewed in such a context and in turn grimaced, raising one hand in a calming motion.

"Not in the way that you think! I have only gone so far as to verify the Kyūbi remained at length from your conscious mind." He responded firmly.

Naruto stood up. "Unbelievable. Y'know what? I'll _show you _proof that I'm still me and telling the truth!" Naruto stated in a pained tone, stepping back from the Hokage and performing the basic hand-seals of the Shadow Clone technique.

Hiruzen acted quickly to counteract whatever Naruto was about to perform- _no doubt a trick of the Kyūbi_, he thought as he rose in an instant and flung himself over the desk, and then his hands caught Naruto's and pressed the boy against the wall.

Only to have the body explode into smoke before him.

"_What_?" The elder shinobi asked as if disbelieving his eyes.

A short laugh caught his attention from behind the desk.

Turning about he saw a trio of Naruto's sitting smugly in his chair or hanging off the edges. "This, as you well know, is the Shadow Clone jutsu. A forbidden technique currently wrapped up in a large scroll somewhere in here. Seeing as you have it under a fair guard and you would have caught me long before I successfully read it, will you finally _listen _to what I have to say?" Naruto asked him.

Hiruzen stared at them in further disbelief, for it was true that the technique was as he said.

A moment later and a flicker of motion as the Sandaime turned completely serious saw three kunai sailing at them at a far more deadly pace.

Two of the knives cut through the clones on the left and right armrests before they could react and left them vanished into puffs of smoke, while the third yelped and only just ducked the third such weapon.

It's tainted edge sliced into one cheek as it was intended.

"Ow!" Naruto complained, holding a hand to the leaking wound and scowling at the old man. "What was that for?" He demanded.

Hiruzen walked forward slowly and leaned over his desk, drumming the fingers along its surface quickly in agitation.

"You should feel the sedative-poison leaking through your bloodstream any moment now. I am sorry, Naruto, but whatever it is that has happened to you of late, I _can not_ allow it to continue. Whatever lies the Kyūbi has told in order to establish a hold in your chakra, whatever it has managed to teach you, _must _be undone." He said in a hard tone.

Naruto shuddered without answering, having never heard or felt the intensity of the Hokage's words now as he had before, or been harmed directly by his hand like this.

He _could _counteract the poison if he used some of the fox's chakra, but that would only convince the Sandaime of the danger he represented at the moment.

Which meant, unfortunately for him, that he would have to gut it out and try to get his point across again. He simply _couldn't _do what he had planned since waking up this morning almost a decade younger without the the elder shinobi's help.

Breathing in sharply through his mouth as the unfortunately swift moving poison rushed through his veins, Naruto stubbornly sat up and stared into Hiruzen's eyes.

"_Here_, dig around until you get the answers you need! I'm not going to give up-" his words were cut off as he coughed suddenly, feeling ill as much as tired.

Looking back up at the Hokage, he gripped the edges of the chair tightly and settled his head against the soft material, looking straight into the old mans eyes.

Hiruzen stared at him for another long moment before reaching a hand forward and placing it directly to the boys head, choosing to utilize the Yamanaka families preferred technique in place of Yamashiro-kun's derivative on it, and slid into Naruto's mind.

It was not a pleasant ninjutsu to perform even at his age.

* * *

_Meeting Sasuke on the team for the first time, actually sitting down and speaking for more than a simple sparing lesson, and immediately disliking him._

_Fighting with the other boy in the Chūnin exams, and the Forest of Death._

_Struggling against Gaara as the other jinchūriki transformed piece by piece into a monster._

_Learning of Orochimaru's attack and the loss of Sandaime._

_Jiraiya teaching him the methods of the Rasengan, using base materials easily bought._

_Spinning, rotating, inverting the simple objects at last._

_Creating his first Rasengan successfully in battle._

_Meeting with Tsunade and winning their loose bet over the technique._

_Utilizing the Rasenshuriken in battle._

_Arriving at a demolished landscape, and learning it was Konoha._

_Entering Sage mode and protecting the Godaime from Pain's attack._

_Falling to the Kyūbi's dominion at the loss of Hinata._

_Speaking with his father at last._

_Destroying the last of Pain's assumed bodies and hunting down his true self._

* * *

Tearing himself from Naruto's memories, if indeed they were such, Hiruzen leaned back and gripped the edges of his desk tightly to keep himself upright.

_The sheer flood of emotions_..._! _He thought, eyes looking over the small child before him.

Naruto was shivering as he resisted the urge to throw up and collapse to the ground unconsciously, eyes flickering before half-lidded and wide open and mouth set in a frown even as he panted.

"Does... that... convince you... old man... Hokage?" Naruto questioned, shuddering again and slamming his mouth shut, breathing rapidly through his nose to keep the bile back as his lunch disagreed with the poison.

Hiruzen did not know how to react. He had seen memories before, had experienced them when needed, and the only difference was how _firmly attached_ Naruto was and how _deeply involved _his emotions were linked to them, compared to the almost-detachment others held for the majority of their memories.

Quickly diving out of the chair and out of sight of the Hokage, Hiruzen was spared the sight of those ramen noodles coming back and earning revenge after all these years on Naruto's unending hunger as he at last succumbed toward the inevitable.

After a few moments Hiruzen pulled out a small vial of antidote from his pockets and walked around, kneeling by the shuddering child and placing a reassuring hand to his back as he tried to ignore the smell emanating up at him.

He didn't notice how Naruto managed a faint upturning of his lips in victory, which faded again as he finished up with his afternoon meal and sagged toward another patch of the floor almost unconsciously.

Leaning Naruto back in the lull between motions, Hiruzen uncorked and pressed the small vial to the child's mouth, and Naruto didn't hesitate to swallow the bland liquid.

The sedative trying to drag him down gradually lightened, and he inhaled slowly and deeply and clamped his lips shut to keep it down, focusing on controlling his stomach after a few seconds to keep any more from coming up.

In a couple of minutes he felt weak but otherwise mostly recovered, and Naruto stood up tiredly.

"Sorry about your floor, Hokage-sama." He stated sincerely, looking embarrassed at the mess.

Hiruzen lead them both away from it and toward an open window. "Do not worry yourself over it," he responded softly, still contemplating just what to do.

After several seconds of silence the boy spoke up, "If you saw the same things I did, then does that convince you?" Naruto asked softly.

"I do not know what I believe, Naruto." Hiruzen responded evenly and heard the other suppress a sigh.

"You know there are space-time techniques, right?" He asked.

Hiruzen nodded his head without answering.

Naruto glanced at his reaction and continued. "Madara uses one to teleport himself or anyone else wherever he needs with just his Sharingan, and Kakashi-sensei uses his Sharingan to manipulate dimensions for a similar result." He paused to gauge the reaction again.

Hiruzen remained silent, not showing an outward expression but inside growing a little more worried.

"I kind of got caught in between them when I was in Sage mode about eight and a half years from now," Naruto continued, "the natural energies got entangled with the space-time energy of the jutsu and... well.. as far as we can tell, I got blasted back in time. But I don't know if this is the same dimension as the one I'm supposed to be in." Naruto finished, staring at Hiruzen and almost demanding that the old Hokage acknowledge him.

Further silence won out for another minute until Hiruzen sighed. "Tell me everything you know, Naruto. Everything you can that I haven't already told you about at your age but planned to in the years ahead," he answered him.

Naruto grimaced. "Aw, c'mon! You didn't share a whole lot before the Chūnin exams! Can't I just say where ero-sennin is or something at this time frame and you send out a shinobi team to verify?" He complained, finding it hard to believe after everything else.

Hiruzen shook his head. "Not quite the same," he answered, though inwardly he agreed that it could be a useful way of truly solidifying what he was being told.

Naruto huffed in indignation and sat down on the floor, sighing.

"This is gonna take a while. Lemme consult myself a few times to make sure I've got it all set," he stated, and as before with the proper motions he summoned three more duplicates.

Hiruzen frowned but stepped back as the foursome pressed heads together and whispered among themselves for several minutes.

**End Chapter One.**


	2. Chapter 2: The first changes begin

A/N: Thank you, Adventure Writer 28. Here it is :)

mi5tan, you got it in one. Hokage wouldn't normally do such a thing, but he couldn't risk a potentially Kyūbi-controlled Naruto slipping off or doing something dangerous. The fact that, to his understanding, it had already taught him such a forbidden jutsu was enough.

* * *

After hearing his words repeated back at himself yet again - or near enough that he had good reason to believe them, Hiruzen nodded his head with a grim expression on his face. The four Naruto's let out a collective sigh of relief before high-fiving one another with grin's stretching their face's.

A few more moments passed before they quieted down and the duplicates dissipated into smoke once more, leaving the original sitting on the floor and looking up at the Hokage eagerly, having recovered some of his strength by that point.

"You must understand, Naruto, that what you have told me is unsettling. The knowledge you hold of the future is a burden you should not pass on to others without strict consideration," Hiruzen told him in a tired tone, closing his eyes in thought.

Naruto nodded his head. "Of course. I didn't even want to tell _you_, but I kinda need your help for most of what I want to alter," he responded seriously.

The older shinobi frowned at him without opening his eyes.

"If you change _one _ thing than you are liable to change _many more _as an unintended result; we must discuss the merits and risks of whatever it is you have in mind before even beginning to implement the first alteration," he responded in the same tone.

"Aw, c'mon, Old man Hokage. How much could shift out of place by making a few friends earlier?" Naruto asked him with a frown.

Hiruzen turned toward the jinchūriki and finally opened his eyes with an raised eyebrow at the boy- _no_, _this_ _teenager_, _in mind and maturity if nothing else_, he silently corrected, and said, "Who did you have in mind? I sensed something about the youngest Uchiha during your memories with Jiraiya-san, and a similar if different result from the red-haired child."

"Oh... well, Sasuke sooner or later. Probably sooner to try and keep him from becoming _too_ introverted and focused on killing Itachi and getting revenge above all else," Naruto answered. "And Gaara definitely ranks up there. Even now he's probably fending off an assassination attempt in his home village! If I can befriend him as a child it might help contain how murderous he'd become later!"

Hiruzen shook his head slowly in sorrow at hearing such a situation awaited each boy in the times ahead. "Is that all?" He questioned.

Naruto shook his own head no.

"Friend-wise probably, but there's a lot of other stuff to get a handle on before it's too late, Old man Hokage. It might be possible to wrangle up Yakushi Kabuto and get a foothold into Orochimaru's network for starters." He responded, then with a nod of the head he added, "Maybe we could try and do something about Amegakure before Nagato becomes completely lost inside of his grief and Pain-persona - I do not want to fight his Six Paths or the Rinnegan again! He could have helped out in so many ways if he had lived, and I _know_ he has it in him to perform good again!"

* * *

While jinchūriki and Hokage spoke nearby, an unwelcome pair of ears listened in from below. The wood beneath the sash of the window captured every word and detail intimately, as it had been so since Tenzo was enfolded into the ANBU - and the hidden _Root_ immediately thereafter - three years prior.

In part, the Mokuton-endowed nin's nature was to be sure that the Hokage would always have a ready-guard prepared to react and as a warning in place should an attempt to kidnap or even kill him occur, or a henge-user try to replace him at some point in order to deceive Konoha and the Council.

But in truth, his primary reason for the deception was to record down anything that might help_ Root_ secure the future of Konoha. Any mission that might be seen as too awkward to be carried out upon the Hokage's orders, either in public or in private, whether the Sandaime chose to present the details to Danzō-sama or not, would be dealt with at the discretion of the hidden _Root_ in secret, and often at certain lengths and a healthy time-dilation to be sure the Hokage or those who had brought the information forth in the first place would never grew suspicious as their goals were fulfilled and enemies neutralized.

The information that Tenzo overheard that afternoon both alarmed him and, he was certain, would need to be relayed to the elder figure at the earliest opportunity.

* * *

"Enough, enough. _Yes_, Naruto, your ambitions are fair and just! But we _can not_ just set about altering every little thing that you would like to see done." Hiruzen argued after hearing the rest of Naruto's plans for the weeks ahead.

His eyes narrowed to thin slits and his frown sharpened unconsciously. "Why not?" He questioned in annoyance.

"To begin with? You yourself said this may not even be the same dimension you were born in, and though much of what you declared aligns with what I would likely had done, I can affirm that there are discrepancies here and there that point to the odds of even more differences in this world. We can not guarantee that events have fully transpired the same or will _stay _along similar routes if you start poking at them!" Hiruzen answered in slowly rising annoyance as well, if disappointment.

Naruto _hmphed_ to himself in frustration and pushed up to his feet, feeling uncharitably irritated. This was not going the way he had thought - foolishly hoped, even - that it would have, which was why he had not initially wanted to alert the Sandaime to his presence. The desire to speak with the old man, well and alive again, had been too strong to ignore, however, and now it seemed that he should have tried harder to do just that anyway.

"Fine. Have it your way! But I'm not just going to sit here on my haunches all day long and wait around for the Akatsuki to get a move on picking us all off at their leisure!" With that said he pushed to his feet and headed for the open window's ledge.

"Where are you going?" The Hokage demanded as he strode forward as well, again preparing to stop Naruto if need be.

"Training!" Naruto snapped over one shoulder as he rolled out the window toward the ground below.

He hit with a low thud and rolled through it, popping back to his feet with a slight slouch of disorientation from the size difference between his older body and the younger one - just one of the things he would need to adjust to before he started gallivanting out of the village.

After a moment Naruto shook his head to clear it, then began jogging quickly off toward the old training grounds he had used for so long as a child the first time around.

The Hokage watched him go with a feeling of unease replacing his anger. _You really could have handled that better, Hiruzen,_ he thought slowly, turning in the direction of the door as someone stepped in without knocking.

* * *

_Stupid old man_! Thunk. _Stupid Madara Uchiha_! Thunk. _Stupid me_! Thunk.

With every annoyed thought he threw an old and shoddily-cast kunai toward the mark on the tree down-range about thirty feet, nearly half an hour after departing the Hokage Tower. The slightly battered tools strayed off the path he was aiming for every time, but all he cared about at the moment was that they were at least staying in the crudely drawn chalk circle he had put there who-knows-how-long-ago.

Another few throws later and he had to go and fetch them again.

A hastily summoned Shadow Clone moped as it leisurely walked forward and tore the objects free with more force than needed, leaving rents in the surface of the wood deeper than the knives had originally penetrated.

"Come on, come on! Haven't got all day!" Naruto grumbled.

His duplicate heard from across the distance and made a face, responding in distaste, "Yeah, we kinda do!"

"Well what are we going to do about it?" Naruto shot back.

His Shadow Clone frowned in thought, stopping where he was.

Naruto eyeballed himself standing there, considering. "_Don't bother_. Kyūbi and I already went over the facts - mostly growls and threats on the fox's part - and old man Hokage's the only one we can confide in for the moment." He stated.

A low whistling sound pierced the air as a proper kunai thrown with practiced ease and surety sunk into his duplicates forehead and carried on into the tree behind, wedging itself deep enough for the tip to emerge from the back and leave a narrow fissure splintering off from the point of contact.

Naruto spun around to see a tall nin wearing a dog or fox-faced-plate and the usual black and gray clothing of an ANBU, worn armor scarred from odd scratches, striding easily around the underbrush some distance away.

"_Huh?"_ He uttered in surprise; normally the ANBU tasked to keeping watch on him avoided such a blatant approach, and to see one just boldly step out of the shadows put him slightly on guard after the better part of a day in thought. Mizuki's betrayal was suddenly bright and fresh in his mind.

"_Sshh_," the voice that emerged from beneath the mask was slightly hollowed due to the porcelain, but it was one that after a few moment's thought he recognized, drawing a curious frown across his face.

Naruto relaxed his guard momentarily as he stared at who he suspected to be Yamato beneath the mask. _Did the Hokage change his mind, after-all?_ He wondered. _I doubt a Jōnin would just show themselves so easily otherwise, and perhaps he chose one I would trust, outside of Kakashi-sensei._

Still, he hesitantly asked, "Yamato-taicho?"

The other shinobi did not show any signs of recognizing that name. He simply carried onward and only slowed after the distance had been cut down to several feet of open space. Naruto watched him uncertainly. Turning and walking around to observe the boy, the face-plate tilted to the side as if in silent curiosity, and after doing two full rounds the presumed-man stopped slightly behind the jinchūriki's back.

That same flicker of uncertainty held for an instant - just one overly-long moment - before he felt it strengthen immediately into unease, and that further into doubt.

_This isn't right!_

Shunshining away and turning around to face the ANBU, his eyes honed in on the flashing hand-seals being performed in that time and was instantly put on guard again. "I don't know if you are who I think you are," he began, molding chakra and raising a handful of tentative clones with the practically-ancient hand-seals for them, and then the world seemed to shudder beneath all of their feet and whether he was on guard or not no longer mattered.

The ANBU's own final hand-seal had come and gone during his short-lived warning, and the chakra already sent into the field only minutes ago, shortly before emerging, was manifested into **Earth Release**: _Earth Flow Divide. _A yawning fissure divided the land from underneath Naruto and his clones before they could even react, delivering the lot of them into the underlying **Wood Release**: _Four-Pillar Prison Technique. _

Naruto's eyes widened as he fell into the open cage and was instantly crushed against the miniscule bars at the front of it. Tendrils and branches surged forward and upward to drive his body into an awkwardly arched position, splaying his fingers apart to prevent any further hand-seals, and nearly smothering him as his chest was compressed. He gagged on the branch that spread into his mouth and trapped his upper and lower jaw apart, shoving his tongue toward the back of his throat to keep him from crying out.

His clones were crushed into smoke again and those cages melded into his own, forming a dozen handholds all around it. "_Nggh!_" The panicked sound barely escaped from his mouth. He tried reaching for the Kyūbi's chakra, but a dense barrier seemed to have arisen between he and the tailed beast, and Naruto was suddenly, absolutely certain, that the man ahead of him was indeed Yamato. No one else was capable of such Mokuton creations, or suppressing a bijuu.

_Breath!_ He thought desperately, struggling to inhale enough air through his nostrils. He could barely keep his thoughts from spiraling out of control, but it came to him that the Hokage would not have sent Yamato to bind him in such a manner. His fears bespoke of another man that might very well seek out a future-sent jinchūriki - Danzō himself. _He couldn't have - it shouldn't be possible -_ he began to hyperventilate.

The ANBU rose from his momentarily-kneeling posture and strode forward calmly. Unlike Naruto, his mind was clear and focused on his duties to the village - and the hidden _Root_. If the Hokage would not mine the information from the future, even if partially inaccurate, than it would be utilized as such information had been for years now, to benefit Konoha from out of the shadows.

Lifting the light-yet-firm prison and its query into the air and then settling it over the shoulders, Yamato kicked off from the dirt a short distance before turning back and closing the divided land once more. With that done, he rushed back into the forest around them.

If his attention had not been focused singularly upon Naruto and covering his own tracks, however, he may well have taken note of the _other _boy within the area, who was only just approaching that particular training field when the ANBU had struck.

The youngest Uchiha stared after them for a very long time.

* * *

The Hokage looked at the unexpected and, more so, _bold _ intruder to his office.

"Kakashi-san? What can I do for you at this moment?" He questioned mildly.

Hakate Kakashi sniffed at the air in curiosity before blanching. "What died in here?" The Jōnin wondered aloud, momentarily distracted from answering.

Hiruzen let out a grim laugh. "A slight accident with Naruto. I'll have it dealt with later- come over here if you wish to discuss something, the smell is kept at bay through the wind drifting inward." He responded.

Kakashi nodded his head and stepped forward quickly. "I wish to take-over the Uchiha survivor's education and well-being," he stated firmly in answer to the Sandaime's question.

Hiruzen quickly riffled through _any _action the Copy Ninja had displayed over the last few weeks that might have forewarned of this action, and then further back still.

Unfortunately, he couldn't recognize a single instance leading up to this moment.

"What brought this about?" He asked, giving Kakashi his full attention.

"As the sole other Konohan-shinobi capable of the _Sharingan_, to begin with, I can teach him to bring it out sooner and gain dominance of the power in a safe manner. _Relatively speaking_." He answered.

"_'Relatively speaking'_?" Hiruzen quoted dryly, and Kakashi nodded his head.

"Of course. He _is _a ninja-to-be, after-all, and there will be danger involved for him; but hardly as much as he would have to endure on his own, and I can guide him and train him in preparation for the difficulties laying ahead of him as the last Uchiha," the Copy Ninja responded.

"He remains in just as much danger as the Hyūga-heiress of being kidnapped by another village, and frankly, I'm amazed no one has dared to try - not even Kumo." When the Hokage made no motion to speak, he added, "But aside from that, I suspect that without a proper force in his life to guide him and teach him, the chances of him safely making it to even Chūnin level fall's with every passing month."

Hiruzen remained silent for such a length of time after that that Kakashi began to wonder if the Hokage had taken ill, but at last he sighed. "Very well. If he will agree, you may take Uchiha Sasuke on as your unofficial pupil." He stated wearily.

"I could easily- _wait_, what?" Kakashi began and paused in mid-protest. "You're agreeing?" He asked, not quite able to accept that things had been accomplished so easily.

Hiruzen gave him a low scowl. "Yes, you have my permission to take the last Uchiha under your wing, Hatake!" He answered shortly.

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. "I didn't expect it to be that easy after such a length of silence," he responded honestly.

Hiruzen's face didn't change. "Drudge up the required paperwork after you have his agreement and I'll sign the waiver." The Hokage warned in an ominous tone that unsettled the Jōnin , "You will be responsible for Sasuke Uchiha's survival from that point forward!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he answered respectfully at last. Turning and retreating back through the door he began working his way toward the Uchiha compound as a starting point to search out the child.

Hiruzen grimaced once the Jōnin was gone.

"Look at what you've already begun in the wake of your arrival, Naruto. The only reason I even agreed to this is to try and maintain what loyalty, what few ties to Konoha that I can for the boy!" He exhaled warily, not liking what was to come for the youngest of the three remaining Uchiha-line at all if history stayed true to its path. "Better to interfere now and hope to guide the sails of change reluctantly rather than not at all."

* * *

_Look what you've managed to wrap us up into now, boy!_ A vicious snarl echoed across the walls of the sewer.

Naruto grimaced at the fox. "How was I supposed to know he'd do that? Yamato never showed any signs of this in the future, even if he did threaten to use force as an instrument of training." He responded defensively.

_Really?_ The Kyūbi demanded in a tone that if it weren't the fox, Naruto might have taken as sarcasm rather than a biting rhetoric. _I thought you were supposed to be smarter after eight years_; _but of course not_. _Your attention has wavered ever since the moment you left that office! _It growled at him.

Naruto growled right back at it. "I can get us out of this if you'd let me return to my body!"

The Kyūbi's eyes flared and the full brunt of his killing intent stabbed at Naruto sharply. _Do not presume to argue with me_, _child!_ _You think I desire to speak with you? The damage you were invoking in an effort to break free would have destroyed us if I allowed it to go onward! _The fox roared.

Naruto picked himself up off the floor about five seconds after being blown over by the rush of chakra-suffused wind, grimy water dripping off of his hair and clothing.

_Do not fight the cage_. _Have you forgotten the control over my fellow bijuu that the line of Senju possesses? That cursed blood and nature is imbued within our captor_, _and you will not escape as you are_- _so invoke your precious Sage Mode if you want a way to weaken the bindings and slip free! _The Kyūbi growled at him.

Naruto stared at it almost blankly for several seconds before smacking himself in the forehead for not thinking of that sooner.

But he noticed a flaw in that plan. "He's gonna freak out and _really _draw out the suppression techniques if I do that." He argued.

Kyūbi's tails flicked back and forth in rapid agitation before he settled down onto his front paws again, looking away from Naruto. _Do as you will_, _if you do not kill us first_, it stated, and with that dismissal Naruto found his form drifting back and away from the cage of steel and rising toward consciousness again, to return to his own cage of wood.

**End Chapter Two.**


	3. Chapter 3: Drawing out a fox

A/N: Thank you most dearly for that review, Bridget! You don't know how happy I was when I saw it :D I may look into a beta in the future but for now I'm still relying on firefox's spell-checking software.

I'll work on fixing up the punctuation though. If it continues to crop up please let me know :)

Thanks Adventure Writer 28 :) Again, here's the next update.

* * *

Naruto blinked several times as he returned to consciousness, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes from the wind streaming into them. His heart still thumped quickly in his chest, but the near-panic that had consumed him earlier on was strangely calmer after his meeting with the Kyūbi. Perhaps _knowing_ that he had a means of breaking free again was the difference.

The cage shook and jostled around upon Yamato's shoulders as the older shinobi carted him through the dense foliage - far too much vibration to try and grasp the stillness required of nature chakra. _I only need a few moments, _he thought, forcefully exhaling and then inhaling slowly only to repeat the breathing exercise. It took more effort of will to simply slow his lungs down than he would have liked, and most of his body was beginning to protest against the unnatural shape he was contorted into now that he was aware enough to acknowledge the pain.

He blinked again and closed his eyes. It was just too blurry for him to make out any kind of viable guess for where they were, or where they might be going. He couldn't even judge the shadows on the ground thanks to the current cloud cover blotting out the sun at the moment, leaving their direction as much a mystery as the rest.

With nothing to do but wait for the opportunity, Naruto continued to work on his breathing and tried to ease the aches developing _everywhere, _and only then did he begin to think on what would happen when he could finally reach out and enter Sage Mode - and how to handle a confrontation with Danzō Shimura when he did.

* * *

"There you are." Kakashi stated as he finally entered the training ground clearing, mildly put out that it had taken so long to find his potential-charge.

Sasuke was still standing in place with a contemplative expression on his dark features, and he turned toward the elder shinobi but said nothing as he was approached. Unlike the orange-clad idiot he had seen wrapped up and carried away earlier, he kept his guard up and reached for one of the kunai at his back cautiously.

Kakashi noticed the reaction and slowed, raising his hands in a showing of peace. "Calm down," he said softly. Sasuke eyeballed him and took a step back, sliding into a fighting stance he had learned before from his _brot_- _that man, _he corrected himself, who had killed his entire family.

Kakashi did not like how this was starting off.

"Relax, Uchiha. I'm not here to fight you." He said.

Sasuke tensed at his last name and gripped the kunai tighter, mistrust clear in his eyes.

The Jōnin sighed and slowly drew back the hitai-ate over his left-eye, opening it up and displaying the red energy and trio of black tomoe therein.

Sasuke let out a shout at seeing the _Sharingan_ again so soon after the destruction of his entire family and the arm holding the kunai began to tremble. He wanted to turn and look away with every passing moment, but a paralyzed numbness swept through his body as if trapped.

_M.. move... move!_ He struggled to pull his thoughts together as the events of that night half a year ago flooded the forefront of his mind; _so much _blood, _his parents slumped over beside the table with glassy black eyes_, _and his brother calmly stepping forward to finish the_ _job_... Sasuke's whole body shook, staring up at the man across from him and seeing only_ those_ _swirling red eyes_.

Kakashi felt even more mystified then before over this reaction to what he had thought might be a comforting sight. _What exactly am I doing wrong here? _ He silently asked, frowning when the boy's grip slackened from his shaking - that kunai was in imminent danger of dropping and digging into his toes.

_Something is definitely amiss._ Making up his mind and striding forward, Kakashi watched as the motions seemed to stir the last Uchiha's body into action. Desperation suffused the angles of Sasuke's face, and with only a foot of distance separating them the boy abruptly lurched; his fingers clenched down and then the kunai was thrown with as much force and accuracy as he could, and even as his arm was descending he pivoted on one foot and turned to race off in the other direction.

Kakashi caught the object in mid-motion with one hand and dashed forward, slipping past and then turning to catch the child by the shoulders with his other arm, and dropping down to one knee all in the process of just seconds. "What troubles you so?" he questioned in a quiet, calm tone.

Sasuke trembled violently in his grip and managed a low snarl, glaring at the _Sharingan_ with a look of mingled hatred and burning terror for what it had last brought upon him.

_I've made a mistake; this isn't helping,_ the older shinobi realized at last. Reaching up with one hand to cover Obito's eye with his forehead protector again, Kakashi stared down at Sasuke and repeated his question.

Sasuke went silent, hands balled up into fists.

Lowering his head with a sigh Kakashi released the boy and stood up. "I know you miss your family dearly, and I had hoped to raise you and train you in lieu of your father and brother to do it." He stated, hoping that clarifying why he was there might finally get them on the same ground. He _did _ catch how Sasuke made a noise of objection at the end of that statement and yet his feet remained firmly planted where he stood, not moving an inch. "If you change your mind and decide to talk to me, I'll be waiting at the edge of the Uchiha compound."

Stepping around him Kakashi made the hand-seal for the _Body Flicker technique_ and paused in mid motion as the child murmured something beneath his breath.

"Hm?"

Sasuke repeated himself just barely louder. "I can't hear you." The Jōnin lied having clearly heard the words the first time.

He waited for the boy to turn and face him, and Sasuke finally did so and said in a loud and angry tone, "Why? Why would you want to?"

Kakashi tilted his head to the side. "Do I need a reason to help?" He asked. Sasuke managed a fairly accurate glare at him. "Okay, yes," he amended a moment later before growing silent for several seconds, debating the reasoning over one more time in his own mind before giving it to the boy. "One of your uncles... Obito Uchiha was one of my teammates a long time ago. We didn't often get along until... his final mission. He sacrificed himself to save both my life and our other teammate, and even gave up his newly awoken _Sharingan_ for me at the end. I've never had the chance to repay his sacrifice, and I never will now that his clan, _your _ clan, is gone... not unless I help _you_." His voice grew somewhat faint as he visualized that day and the events therein.

"... You're just using me to make your guilt go away." Sasuke stated in a quiet but no less angry tone.

Kakashi startled him by laughing grimly. "In a way I am, yes." He conceded, and before the child could say anything he continued in a kinder tone, "But, I genuinely want to see you live a long life, Sasuke. I want you to rebuild your clan when you've grown old enough for that responsibility, and I want you to be capable of defending yourself - and, if need be, _killing_ - anyone that tries to kill you first." He said firmly.

Sasuke pondered that. He wanted to make his _broth_- _that man_ pay dearly for destroying his family, and to do that he would need a lot of time and training to grow strong enough. He had always been so far behind, never reaching the same heights at the same ages as the other shinobi.

"... I'll do it." He said quietly.

"You will?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke nodded his head reluctantly and Kakashi smiled sadly beneath the mask overlapping his lower face. "Then let's gather up the paperwork and go visit the Hokage." He stated.

The child nodded his head before saying, "Just don't carry me away in a cage like that fox-face did the idiot."

Kakashi stared at him blankly. "What?" He asked. Sasuke repeated himself.

"Cage? Fox-face? Do you mean an ANBU member?" the Jōnin questioned. Sasuke nodded his head. "An ANBU dragged off someone you consider an idiot."

"Who else would run around in orange, shouting 'believe it!' all the time?" Sasuke questioned in annoyance.

It took a moment for that to click into place. _What reason does an ANBU member have to cart off Naruto-kun in a _cage_ of all things? _ He thought, grimacing.

"Right. We'll have to postpone the paperwork. Hop on!" leaning over and offering his shoulder to the child he waited for Sasuke to climb up. The boy made a face at being toted around like a five year old and stated that firmly.

"Okay then, express it is." Turning and scooping Sasuke up into his arms, Kakashi gave him only a moment to grip on tightly even as he protested before shunshining toward the Hokage's office.

* * *

The wind died down as the lurching of the cage slowed, and Naruto's eyes flashed open in an instant, blinking rapidly to clear his gaze and take in the darkness of the cavern they had just entered. The wide and barren hall was only faintly illuminated by a handful of lights bracketed to the walls, and ahead branched outward into three directions, Yamato trotting down the left-most of them. His future teacher seemed to be more at ease now that they were nearing the end of the journey, taking his time around the dry, sloping terrain.

Naruto's pulse was back at a normal rhythm, and he was breathing evenly despite the difficulty of his position. Slower and shallower breaths than he would have liked, but at least it was under control, and that aside he could sense nature chakra as if it was just out of reach. It was teasingly close, but until the cage was dropped, he simply had no other alternative but to bide his time.

They passed through several narrow halls in a row over the next few minutes, passing one or two other members of the hidden _Root_. Those others gave Yamato a wide berth even before they took in what he had clasped within his cage, and though it wouldn't have been noticed had he been in any other position, the jinchūriki recognized the slight tension that flared across his captor's shoulders and neck whenever that occurred.

He almost frowned. His muscles couldn't quite shape to that as they were, but even still. Whatever the reason, Yamato seemed to be the lone-man-out within this group, and it was something that couldn't be suppressed in whole.

Naruto's sympathy's were set aside as they exited the final hall and emerged into a wide, open chamber surrounded by screens depicting certain sections of the village; the deserted Uchiha Compound, empty even of Sasuke at the moment; the outer edges of the Hyūga clan grounds, a few of their disgruntled branch-house members serving the main-house in flowing gardens; and the rotted civilian sector where Naruto made his own home.

The first two would have been surprising enough, but that Danzō Shimura had eyes on _his_ dilapidated area of the village unnerved Naruto greatly. It didn't make sense at all - unless he was ensuring that nothing happened to the Kyūbi's vessel, as had been attempted with Hinata only a few years before.

Danzō himself stood facing away from them, his single visible eye perusing the screens as if in deep thought. Without turning around, he spoke up lowly. "Set the boy aside and close the way up behind you, Tenzō. Return in thirty minutes to remove the barrier."

Yamato bowed at the waist and slung Naruto's cage carefully to the ground at one side, dropping him the last inch and rattling his bones. Naruto grunted and bit down on the wood blocking up his mouth, eyes narrowing in pain, and the masked shinobi departed through the sole opening after a murmured, "Hai, Danzō-sama."

It was impossible to see from his current angle, but both of them heard the rustle of roots stirring to life in the next moments and the overlapping _clack_ of wooden bars crisscrossing. In less than a minute the noise had vanished, and the leader of the hidden _Root_ turned to face his prisoner at last; it was in that moment that golden-yellow eyes opened up, narrow flat pupils replacing the usual blue orbs, and red highlights bled up from the skin around the sockets in matching slants.

Naruto flexed his body and burst through the first bars at the same time his potential opponent met his gaze. The calm the jinchūriki had developed seemed to flourish even further as he pushed up and broke his left arm free, gradually peeling himself up and out of the remnants of the cage.

"Hello, Naruto Namikaze. I see your actions speak far louder than the words I've overheard this afternoon."

**End Chapter Three.**


	4. Chapter 4: Weariness all around

A/N: Thank you for the reminder on dialogue deanine :) I've been edging around it but ultimately, yes Naruto has found himself in an alternative universe as well as a time-shift to his natural one. Any differences in characteristics are a sign of the AU trying to adapt to Naruto's alien presence- kind of like throwing a pebble into a still body of water, he's making ripples with every action he takes. Of course _he_ won't really catch on to that just yet.

Thank you Adventure Writer 28 :) Hey, take your time getting a review in. I'm kind of used to delayed responses from my other fics here and elsewhere so I don't mind it greatly.

And one more Thank You to all of my subscribers and those who have added this story to your favorites list!

* * *

Naruto blinked at having his father's name applied to him in place of his mother's.

_I suppose he _would_ have been one of the few to know a__bout that,_ he conceded after a moment, maintaining his combative stance. He didn't know much of what the old council member could do or how he would react, only having heard bits and pieces from Sai on occasion over the months when they had worked together before the Fourth Shinobi World War, and that mystery unsettled him a little now that he had to confront the man. If he had had his way, they would have never met face to face until after things were well and truly underway, after having a chance to actually find out more about the council as a whole to see if they too would react as the Hokage had after learning about him.

A faint niggling on the back of his mind told him to just burst through Yamato's Mokuton contraption sealing up the doorway and make a break for the village proper, but he ignored it for now - even if he did get through it quickly, the rest of the hidden _Root_ would be waiting for him throughout the base, to say nothing of Yamato himself, who was likely stationed nearby even now. He stepped away from the door and glanced at the screens again.

Danzō took his silence in stride. "As I was saying, then," he began neutrally. "I've heard the truth of your situation and you make no motion to deny it. I admit my curiosity over your fate, and our respective desires to protect the village may differ in their execution, Namikaze, but that you were so easily ambushed immediately after your arrival here proves that I made the correct decision in having you brought before me now." He paused to give Naruto a chance to respond, but at the further silence he continued, "Were you captured by Kumogakure, or even Iwagakure in my stead, it is probable the Nine Tails would return to wreak havoc upon our village yet again in short order, to say nothing of the information they would have extracted from you before your execution. It would be an utter disaster not unlike the day of your birth, and this time there is no Fourth Hokage to sacrifice himself for our greater good."

The barb made his hackles raise. "So you weren't planning to harm me, but to test my mettle and teach me a lesson?" Even as he said it that sounded absurd in his own ears. "If it was anyone other than Yamato that had tried to capture me today, tomorrow, or next week, I could have broken free with little trouble and alerted the ANBU trailing me to the situation."

The elder man inclined his head, closing his eye in thought. He spoke up again after a few seconds. "Ah. I see," he stated softly, then reached over to lightly drum his fingers across the metal container over his other arm idly, seemingly shelving the matter for now. "Tell me then, Namikaze. What would you desire to do with the knowledge that you have? I have heard some part from Hiruzen already, but elaborate for me. Perhaps we can come to an agreement that is mutually beneficial; with what you know of_ to come_, and what I already know of what_ is_, our village would be better protected than any other in the elemental nations."

Naruto blinked again. For a moment he seemed thrown by the subject change as much as the more welcoming tone of voice compared to before. His arms crossed over his chest as he thought about it - it _did _sound reasonable to him, for some reason.

And what Old man Hokage had said earlier on about how certain events _could be_ and already _were_ slightly different in this timeline compared to those that had come to pass in his original one meant that Danzō was probably right - maybe by sharing his foreknowledge he could better help to defend Konoha from Orochimaru; from Nagato; the Akatsuki; and of course, _Madara Uchiha_. All of those threats he would have to track down on his own as it was if he wanted to do something about them, for it seemed clear that the Hokage would not willingly aid him. But if he had an _ally_ in the endeavor, particularly one in position to convince the Hokage to go along with things, then it might very well be possible to fix what he wanted to fix _and_ ensure the village was completely safe from the trouble to come. The ANBU would know to be wary at all of the right times, the Hokage prepared to directly intervene, the council alert for misinformation flowing in from their scouts abroad.

He opened his mouth to answer and that niggling sense on the back of his mind redoubled, a faint howl radiating up from the depths of his mind. He recognized the sound after a moment as being the voice of the fox growling at him, and it instantly brought back memories of their irritation and struggle against one another throughout the years until finally culminating in the encounter where he had defeated the Kyūbi and gained full access to its chakra. He pushed the Nine Tails' quiet threats to the back of his mind and tilted his head up to stare at the older nin, momentarily shaken. "How do I know you won't misuse that information?" He asked. "I know Old man Hokage wants to do what is best for everyone, and so would you."

Danzō drummed his fingers more heavily against the metal shell, the sound reverberating like a steel drum. "Be that as it may, Namikaze, would you rather not attempt to convey a sense of impregnable defense and strength about Konoha first and foremost, so that when our envoys are sent out to work on a peace treaty some day with the rest of the hidden villages, they know that they must take our offers seriously?" Naruto began to speak, but he was cut off as Danzō continued. "You need look no further than the Hyūga incident four years ago to see how they view us now, Namikaze. We have been humiliated too often in the past, and will continue to be in the future, of what I have heard."

Naruto sighed, an abrupt tiredness coming over him. He felt like he wanted to trust the old shinobi, but at the same time as if he knew that he should not. The fox's howls had diminished when it became clear that he would not answer them, but they still rippled against the edge of his attention span, refusing to vanish altogether. It was an annoyance that, when coupled with his unease, was getting under his skin. Danzō only exacerbated the issue with that constant drumming of his fingers in an almost-irregular rhythm of taps and pauses.

_I need a few moments of quiet,_ he thought, rubbing at his forehead wearily, as if to sooth a headache. Without even quite realizing it, he had slipped out of Sage Mode.

"Well, Namikaze? Will you honor your father's name and efforts to defend Konoha by working with me, and the hidden _Root_, in the shaping of the coming future?" What had begun as an even, perhaps even _grateful_ tone of voice, took on an edge of steel as he uttered, "Or will you squander your wealth of knowledge and leave our borders undefended from the many menaces lurking ahead?"

Of course he wanted to protect Konoha, that was part of why he even wanted to start working on things _now_, such as going out to Suna to try and calm Gaara, to find someway to work with Nagato before he was immersed in his Pain alter-ego, and to put a stop to Orochimaru's experiments before he could come after Sasuke again one day. What cinched the matter for him was what Danzō had said near the start, that the Hokage had confided in him about the information Naruto had already shared - a fact that almost made him frown.

"Alright," he said, sitting down on the floor and closing his eyes to concentrate. By the time he had sat down the distrust was gone, as if it had never been present on his mind.

He spoke about what was nearest then, at least what he intended to start upon; infiltrating Sunagakure and putting a stop to the life Gaara had lead, else he would become a pawn of Otogakure, Orochimaru, and the Kazekage during the invasion several years later - but Danzō waved a dismissive hand and interrupted him.

"No matter Suna for now, Namikaze. Tell me of _all_ the traitor _Sannin_, and Amegakure in particular."

Not even shrugging, he adjusted track and spoke of seeking out Jiraiya and Tsunade in their distant locations so that they could be brought back to the village, to help in putting a stop to their wayward teammate's actions. The older man asked for _location names_, but all he had were faint ideas. The same for Orochimaru - even the Hokage might not have the pertinent information regarding better-than-remote guesses for where Jiraiya himself was, let alone the other two.

But as his words turned to the Toad Sage, the memories of Jiraiya's training and their two and a half year journey together began to filter to the surface, quick flashes that brought up the different emotions ingrained within them before they were stiffed. His features turned into a pained grimace as his mind warred with itself, trying to suppress something.

When at last his thoughts settled upon the moment when he learned of Jiraiya's demise in Ame, however, something seemed to stir and cut off the flow of words past his lips. A throb developed behind his eyes as the pupils abruptly became jagged, and the old whisker-marked scars along each cheek took on heightened highlights. His incisors sharpened and he felt the fox's voice echo inside of his skull, too far away to make out the words at first but growing in strength with every beat of his heart, until he had unconsciously henged into his older, sixteen-year-old body and clothing again.

_At last,_ the Kyūbi's voice growled inside of his mind, a single slitted orange eye glaring at him therein with venom. _You have been under his genjutsu mind-control, you little fool! Stop speaking before you reveal everything to him!_

Naruto blinked his eyes back open and shook his head, trying to clear it. As soon as the thought occurred that he _was_ being manipulated, the niggling in the back of his mind surged to the forefront and overwhelmed his senses, a foreign chakra standing out now that he knew it was there, and he knew that he had indeed been tricked into speaking precious secrets better kept under lock and key. It felt like a fuzz had lifted from his thoughts and eyes and revealed the truth standing before him once more.

_"Hello, Naruto Namikaze. I see your actions speak far louder than the words I've _overheard_ this afternoon."_

_Overheard_?

Danzō's very first words to him, which had been dampened by the genjutsu, rang now with an echoing clarity over and over again as he looked back at that moment.

The Hokage wouldn't have risked alterations to the timeline so soon by confiding in the council - that was why he had said to _wait_, to get time to _think_ and ponder the information and how it could play out, rather than allow him to rush off and begin implementing his knowledge.

"You lied to me..." Naruto said slowly and quietly, his head dropping down into one hand as he fought to control his overbearing emotions. The enforced calm from their discussion was disintegrating beneath the maelstrom evoked at his time spent with Jiraiya, the good and bad together bleeding into one, and as Danzō's genjutsu was forcibly strangled and destroyed by the Kyūbi's malicious chakra flowing though his veins, giving him strength, a whispered anger that he had been manipulated in such a way started to encompass it all.

Danzō's own eye opened in full, watching him with a hint of contempt even as his fingers continued calmly dancing over the metal shell in what was clearly morse code, sending out messages to whomever was listening beyond this room.

"Perhaps I have, but I told you at the start that my desire to protect this village may not be agreeable from your own point of view. My offer remains to aid you even now, jinchūriki. Join with the _Root_ and share your knowledge freely and you will always be protected, and perhaps even allowed some measure of freedom to roam the various districts of Konoha still when its borders have been proven beyond foreign access." His voice was no longer even the slightest bit pleasant. It came out clipped, hard, giving no compromise, and he reached into a pocket to draw a single kunai for defense.

Naruto lifted his head and stared at the other man with something akin to heated malice etched into his gaze, slowly rising to his feet. It was returned with cold indifference, and then a slow and weary sigh emerged from the older man.

"I see now that you are the same as all of the rest born to this village besides myself, the Second, and Orochimaru," he began. "So willing to succumb to your base emotions rather than execute your duty to the sake of Konoha! You are a _shinobi_; a _tool_ to be wielded in more-capable hands, cutting only as directed, and yet as a weapon you are blunted by your inability to act only as told; you are little more than a liability to us, jinchūriki, exactly as the others I have seen throughout my life." He scoffed, lifting the kunai to his mouth and exhaling a swirl of molded mint-green chakra along its blade. In a moment what had begun as a small knife had become a small sword, and Danzō looked back at him steadily. "I would have yet had you prepared to aid us rather than risk opposing us in the hands of Kumogakure; Iwagakure; Kiwigakure; Sunagakure; or Amegakuri, but you would take that chance, just as the Second did. Now you will be subdued and subjugated until my will is your own."

"I already told you I won't be made into anyone's pawn!" Naruto bit out around clenched teeth. "And I won't allow you to take advantage of the information you stole from me, either!" His fingers began to twitch as bubbling orange-red chakra bled up from his pores, ensconcing the younger shinobi in the old, well-familiar chakra-cloak of the Nine Tails. Only two of said tails flicked back and forth from just beneath the base of his spine, slapping against each other in agitation and scraping rents in the stone floor, but he did not need them all to subdue and capture his opponent before he could do anything.

A moment later, the wall of overlapping roots exploded into motion behind Naruto's back.

* * *

"...And that's it." Kakashi finished explaining what all he had gotten out of Sasuke. The young Uchiha looked uncomfortable to be in the Hokage's office yet again, glancing around at everything in muted curiosity even though he had already seen much of it a several months ago in the wake of his family's massacre.

Hiruzen grimaced. "Do you think you can identify the ANBU member based off of what details you have?" He questioned.

Kakashi closed his normal eye in thought. _Not many would willingly choose the unofficially-retired fox mask for obvious reasons. Dog masks on the other hand... _after running through those he remembered from a few months ago when he left the group, Kakashi nodded his head. "Yes, Hokage-sama. Unless you've signed orders to promote any other Jōnin to the ANBU squad since I left it should be possible." He stated.

Hiruzen nodded his head and gestured to the child standing off to the side, an inquiring look in his eyes. Kakashi nodded his head again in understanding. "The Uchiha heir has agreed," he said in a neutral tone.

"Very well. As I said before, dredge up the paperwork and bring it here. But that must take a back-seat to confirming which ANBU has kidnapped Naruto."

Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke and recognized the body language he was using with a frown. "Yes, Hokage-sama," he agreed without turning toward him. "Do you wish to remain here or follow me and help confirm the mask features, Sasuke?" He asked the child.

Sasuke hadn't expected the question and started, looking up at him. "Do I have to?" He asked softly.

Kakashi shrugged.

The boy frowned but nodded his head, wanting to get this whole process over and done with and get away from the place where he had been taken to so soon after losing everything, where the memories of _that night_ were more easily refreshed. He had gradually gotten used to seeing the empty streets and remnants of the Uchiha Compound, but here he was brought back to _the blood and the bodies scattered everywhere_...

Kakashi reached down and snagged the boy again, jolting him back to the moment and making him shake his head violently to clear away the lingering dead ingrained in his mind's eye. "With your leave, Hokage-sama?" He asked.

Hiruzen watched Sasuke for a moment in concern, then waved a dismissal at them and turned to go back to his desk and stack of unfinished paperwork waiting to be signed and dealt with, knowing that he would likely ponder the youngest Uchiha's fate the same as he had Naruto's prior.

Kakashi nodded and dashed off toward ANBU headquarters.

* * *

Danzō flashed across the distance even as Naruto spun about in alarm, momentarily taken off-guard by the barrage of wood that surged toward his position. A momentary glimpse of white porcelain revealed itself as Yamato's mask behind the shuffling chaos. One of his chakra-tails spun upright and shielded his neck by instinct as Danzō's wind-blade struck at the base of his spine, aiming to temporarily incapacitate him, but he had no time to retaliate directly, forced into slashing at the roots with the suddenly developed chakra-claws over his fingernails as his secondary tail snapping out in an idle pot-shot toward the _Root_ leader's gut.

The first batch of bulging tendrils were cut to ribbons and fell apart hissing where the fox's chakra had touched them, but two and three more burst forth and rushed through the opening to replace them, and he fell back and leaped across the wide room, unconsciously reaching out and catching Danzō's next blow aimed for his head across his upraised right arm instead. The weapon bubbled and grew pockmarked initially at the contact, disintegrating the edge, but the elder shinobi simply released it and drew another kunai, expertly dancing amidst Yamato's Mokuton assault as if they had trained for this very operation day-in-and-day-out.

_I need back-up,_ Naruto realized. He bared his teeth and slammed his hands through the ancient hand-seals of the Shadow Clone jutsu, and two nearly-identical imitations appeared from smoke next to him. They lacked the same degree of bijū chakra and thus held only a single tail, the fox unwilling to share its strength any further, but it was enough to grant them some measure of a chakra-cloak and the enhanced durability within it.

The next moment they were swarmed again; Naruto was able to dedicate some attention to countering Danzō directly while his clones shredded the roots around them, lunging forward and blocking the second wind-enhanced knife with his hand even as he brought the other up and slashed at the council member's torso. He had no more success now than when he had tried before, as Danzō slid back and vanished amidst the wood, only to reappear from another direction.

After the fourth such bout, however, the older nin did not show himself again. The longer Naruto waited, slicing through the roots, the greater his unease rose. The Kyūbi spared a moment to answer; _h__e is waiting for you to wear yourself out, boy. Or else fleeing even now to commit his next atrocities throughout the lands._ _Now stop wasting my precious strength and finish this job!_

A grimace spread across his features. He jumped even further back into the open space at his back and his clones followed after a moment. Without even needing to speak, he held his hands in the motions of the **Wind Release:** _Rasenshuriken_ technique, and they recognized his intent, providing the needed _shape transformation_ and _nature transformation_ while he supplied the chakra. Yamato's Mokuton devoured the twenty foot distance in just seconds; and in just seconds, the greater experience at his aid gave Naruto the time needed to finalize the essence of his attack. For the moment, it did not occur to him exactly what he was about to do, focused only upon catching up to Danzō and halting him directly.

He thrust his arm forward and threw the _Rasenshuriken_ with all his might. The blue-white construct cut through the wood as if it wasn't there, eradicating every tendril in its wake, and then almost-too late, Naruto remembered that Yamato was commanding the opposing ninjutsu. His breath hitched and his posture shifted in the next instant; his eyes flared into cross-shaped pupils, red highlights erupted beneath his eyes, and the awaiting senjutsu chakra brewing in his gut encompassed his entire body.

He felt the fox's outrage and sent a single thought across their uneasy bond even as he shunshined forward - _Shut up and help me!_

The edges of his vision blurred. He could see his technique approaching Yamato at a pace that the older nin had no hope of evading, especially blind by the Mokuton still obscuring the doorway. There was barely even the usual screech of noise as it flowed forward without resistance, and even if Yamato heard the quieter shriek in time, his body simply couldn't react in such a short distance. Naruto himself ducked down as he approached, right arm outstretched. He refused to be responsible for killing his future teacher no matter what Yamato was involved in here and now.

Indentations were burned into the rock and cracks spread outward from there as he drove his feet harder and harder, measuring time in half-second increments. Yamato's mask and parts of his torso could be seen through the gaps in the overlapping wood, the way his body had stiffened and was attempted to pull away apparent.

But he was closer, narrowing the distance. Another heavy step, the cracks widening, the screech louder; another, his fingers nearly close enough to shift the _Rasenshuriken_ with frog kata; another foot of distance eaten as the first white edge cut into the doorway, Naruto nearly stumbling as his hand drove into the wood; and then, at last, his arm and upper body bursting through the surface even as Yamato's flak jacket began to shred, the slightest flare of copper scent suffusing his nostrils to signify _blood_, and Naruto pushed the _Root_ ANBU down and aside with his left hand and then thrust at the deadly technique to offset it with his right; crashing into Yamato and dragging him away as his attack soared upward and to the far end of the hall, wobbling in air and carving a trench through the ceiling the whole way through.

The very air quivered in the instant before two tonnes of jagged stone fell upon them, jinchūriki and ANBU taken by surprise. And further ahead, the _Rasenshuriken_ exploded where it finally collided with a wall, blowing out a quarter tonne of stone and streaming muted sunlight through the dust.

* * *

Hiruzen raised his head from the arch his hands had formed, elbows locked into place flat against his desk. Not only had one of his most steadfast of Jōnin unexpectedly deviated and adopted the last Uchiha in the village the same day as a timeline-displaced Naruto Uzumaki arrived, but then the wayward jinchūriki had managed to entangle himself in a scheme dating back at least a decade.

Said boy was resting up unconscious inside of the hospital at the moment with a double-duty of personally-selected ANBU to watch over him. Where exactly Danzō Shimura had vanished to in the last few hours he did not know, but injured _Root_ personnel were turning up left, right, and everywhere in-between inside of the hidden base discovered within the Hokage Monument that very evening, which said enough.

The _Root_ were supposed to have been disbanded long ago. He sighed warily and looked down to the open report laying on his desk from the head of the Torture and Interrogation Force, Ibiki Morino, describing the incident and information obtained from the breaking of the 'fox-faced' kidnapper, Tenzō. He glanced over the first few pages and skimmed through the report.

"_Like the rest of the hidden _Root_ seeded throughout the regular ANBU troops and being recovered from their base, this Tenzō bears a Juinjutsu upon his tongue that has rendered him incapable of directly answering our questions. What little we've been able to uncover since he willingly left the hospital room and sat down before us has come only after breaking through it at the unfortunate cost of his vocal chords - his tongue remains heavily injured by the backlash of the seal failing. The ability to speak is unlikely to return even if he makes a full recovery._"

That was disturbing in and of itself, but he was simply uncertain what to make of the next paragraph.

"_It appears that he intervened after bringing Uzumaki to their base for unknown purposes. The diminutive roots barely supporting a couple tonnes of stone over their heads when we reached them while the rest of the base was left to fend for itself lends credence to his writing. No other signs of traitorous activity has been, pardon the pun, rooted out of his personal history so far. Hatake Kakashi and the Uchiha brat confirmed he's the one they were looking for._"

So he kidnapped Naruto and delivered the boy to Danzō, and then what? Defends him from some sort of vendetta? Surely Danzō had better control over his subordinates than _that. _There was just too much that he did not know, and until Naruto woke up, he would have to wait to find out. But it could not be coincidence that the _Root_ was unearthed after a decade in hiding today.

He reached down for the pipe laying unattended nearby and lifted it to his lips, taking a dry inhalation on the mostly finished tobacco. It left a sour taste down into his lungs and he grimaced, dumping the ashes into the waste bin the next moment, and refilled it from the pouch in his top drawer. Then he thought better of wasting more in idle thought and set them both aside, grabbing the report and marching out of his office. There was _one_ other he could turn to for more answers.

* * *

Tenzō looked up as the doors of the interrogation room swung upon and admitted the Hokage himself. He tried to smile at his village leader, but his lips wouldn't quite form the right shape and it hurt too badly to want to anyway. He bowed instead and remained there, his forehead pressed to the cold steel and eyes closed, until the Hokage made an impatient note for him to sit upright again.

A thin sheaf of papers landed in front of him. Clearly the report Morino had compiled from his agonized answers a short while ago. A pen clacked and rolled to a halt beside them. He blinked in surprise that he had been given any kind of tool, let alone one as viable as a weapon in the right hands, after what had happened so far. He glanced back at his commander.

"You seem to be changing positions very regularly," the Hokage told him dryly. "And yet I know from your files that you are not an unloyal man. Unless Danzō has reached in and replaced them as well?" If it was meant as a joke, neither man laughed. "Tell me why and what you have done today, Tenzō."

He looked back to the pen and papers, then reached out and flipped over one sheet, writing down his thoughts, actions, and reasoning behind them. It was not overtly long, simply relaying what he believed was necessary for the good of the village. He set the pen aside when he was done and turned the sheet to the Hokage for inspection._  
_

Nothing new was there that had not already been gleamed from Morino's insights, except for the last lines.

"_The boy charged into his own attack to spare my life. He could have stood back and allowed me to die, as I had been told to expect while Danzō-sama retreated. I could not have stopped that technique with any nin, ken, or juinjutsu in my arsenal, and I expected to reenter the pure world at last in the next_ _seconds when I heard - and saw it_."

"_And then he appeared. Garbed in the demon fox's flesh, face a flurry of emotions; yet not one of them was anger, or hate, or a desire to see me dead. I saw only determination etched out of fear. I __was reminded in those brief, eternally-long moments, that Naruto Uzumaki is not the vessel of the Kyūbi out of choice. I don't know what happened when we hit the floor together and then rolled apart, but I saw the collapse of the ceiling while he did not; I simply repaid the favor he had already delivered._"

Tired from borderline chakra-exhaustion, Tenzō leaned back and waited to hear what his fate would be - execution or imprisonment? So long as they let him sleep for a few hours first, he would go without complaint.

The Hokage stared at his message for a long time, and then looked at him for even longer. Then he reached over and severed the rope binding his wrists together, and stepped back. "Very well, Jōnin Tenzō. Let me escort you back to a hospital bed until your wounds are sufficiently healed. I'll pass judgment once - not _if_ - Naruto Uzumaki awakens."

**End Chapter Four.**


	5. Chapter 5: Moving into Suna

A/N: ... I can not believe the reaction to that last chapter. I've been grinning like a loon since I checked the hit-count and such this morning! A very heart-felt Thank You to every one of you who subscribed, added to a C2, and favorited!

That of course extends to my reviewers too :D

You don't have to worry about a large group of people finding out about Naruto and the future, Ubernaut. As it stands only four shinobi are in on it and I intend to keep it that way for a while yet. As for Gaara... Danzo will have his work cut out for him.

You are correct deanine about the rushed nature. I could feel that too on my re-read, but I felt that showing the interrogation/torture of Yamato in order to gain the answers they needed would go over better if the user imagined it unfolding in their own way. I may edit the transition with a note of how long has passed since Yamato was captured and Naruto was dragged in, however.

Thanks cloystreng, Adventure Writer 28, and Yumetaka Kourui :)

Yeah, that's what has Sarutobi so worried at the moment Shinichi06. He just doesn't realize that he's just as much part of the problem now as Naruto is! Thank you :D

* * *

It took them some time to identify what type of jutsu it was that held Naruto paralyzed. Yamato was able to rule out taijutsu or a seal acting out like his own had earlier, and eventually the Sandaime realized it was a mind-technique after yet again reviewing the information available to them.

"Well, there's nothing for it. We can't unbind him without locating where the effect has taken root." Sarutobi stated tiredly.

"Naruto, I must ask that you continue to fight against the effects. It could be hours or it could be days before the technique wears off." he continued while looking the boy in the eyes. "For now you must rest. In the morning we will see what your condition is," he concluded.

Naruto grimaced as best he could at them.

* * *

A fair distance later that night and moonlight filtered down through the clouds around Suna as the nine man team plus Danzo himself entered the valley leading into the Hidden Village of Sand.

The guards ahead bore no importance to him. As they approached in their pale tan cloaks one of the guardsmen stepped forward and raised his left hand in a warning to halt.

A moment passed before he turned back toward the other two watching the entrance and gestured them closer to himself.

"What is it?" one asked gruffly, looking toward the stilled group.

"Search them. I don't trust my genjutsu resistance at close range," the first man answered.

The other two gave noises of annoyance but did as told.

"You will permit yourself to search and refusal of entrance if we so deem it," the gruff guardsman stated.

One of them stepped closed and nodded his head.

Together the guards stripped off his cloak and hood and surveyed the basic cloth wrapped about the upper and lower body like those of the other peasants around Sunagakure.

The battered headband declared the frail old man as one of Kusa's shinobi.

Tsking in distaste they gave him one final once-over before pushing him roughly forward and heading toward the others.

The old man kept his footing and reached down to recover his cloak, slowly drawing it around his neck and shoulders before dragging his way past the original guard and stopping at the edge of the valley.

One by one the others were stripped of their cloaks and confirmed to be just as bad off if not worse than the old man, all of varying ages between twenty and forty.

As before they were allowed to pass, despite the Kusa and intermixed Otogakure hand-bands they all wore. "Go to the nearest reserve until dawn. The owner will relocate you to somewhere useful," the third guard told the last of the lot.

A silent nod was his only answer and the guard shoved him a little harder than needed in response.

Once they were all free of the valley and at least a good distance within the borders of Suna, the frail old man approached the wall surrounding the village and rested against it tiredly.

No one saw his hand performing slow and deliberate seals.

No one noticed as five points burned to life at the edges of his fingertips and sank into the stone.

A short time later and no one saw the group of them sink down into the sand before the wall and vanish from sight, and when the morning came the guardsmen would have no memory of a group of outcasts wandering into the village near midnight.

The ROOT had found a new house within Suna, even if their true home still lay in Konoha.

* * *

A few hours after departing the Hokage's office, however, and despite his seeming eagerness to take in the Uchiha survivor, Kakashi wasn't entirely sure what to do with the silent and brooding child after the paperwork had been signed and processed.

What little he actually owned was relocated from his families grounds and delivered to the small and spartan outcrop of the Hakate dwelling on the far side of Konoha.

Sasuke didn't really seem very eager to get the whole process underway either. He just looked around himself as if in question.

At length he turned toward Kakashi and intoned ,"Where's the rest of your house?" earning a small laugh from the Jounin.

"This is it. One bedroom, a kitchenette, and bathroom," he responded, glancing around at his own simplistic house.

A bedroll was resting against one corner with a small safe beside it full of his Icha Icha Paradise series, a short-cropped magazine rack next to that with two or three other books and a small plaque hanging above the doorway through which they had just entered baring his fathers white tanto.

Sasuke frowned.

"No training equipment?" he asked after taking a quick look around the three rooms.

How could he become stronger without it? There were several devices back at his home- no, back at the site of the _massacre_, that his family had utilized.

"Ah. No, nothing that would be fit for a child to use. I mostly use the joint-grounds of the other Jounin when I need to do such." Kakashi answered.

Taking in the look the boy gave him drew out another chuckle and the Copycat Ninja added, "But I can acquire something for your age soon enough."

Sasuke sighed. "I need to get stronger _now_!" he stated firmly.

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at him but the child's resolve held. With a sound of consideration the elder shinobi motioned for Sasuke to follow him back through the doorway.

After a few moments hesitation he did so.

"There are many exercises designed to exhaust and rebuild your body. Some are more physically demanding and draw out your endurance, while others are tailored to your chakra. Do you want to begin them separate or together, Sasuke?" the Jounin asked.

_... I need everything to surpass him,_ the child thought. "Together," he said aloud.

Kakashi hid a sigh but nodded his head and looked off toward another house some distance away. _You may be seeing Maito Gai sooner than expected, Sasuke, _he thought, running through the list.

There really wasn't much fit for an eight year old- hell, these exercises shouldn't even have been used against most Chunin.

But if Sasuke wanted to get started, then he may as well adapt what his rival was using if in a milder tone.

"Very well. We'll start tonight and stop at midnight. The next session will begin at noon and last until four, then rest until eight to midnight again." Kakashi told him.

He did not turn to see if the Uchiha reacted unfavorably or otherwise to the schedule yet. "We'll begin with a fairly simple technique if you haven't already been taught it, Tree Climbing," he added.

Sasuke made a disgruntled noise and Kakashi turned toward him. "Without your hands," the Jounin stated.

As if to prove his point at the child's disbelieving look Kakashi walked up to the nearest tree and stepped right up it's side, turning around to look at the ground and the boy beneath him several feet away.

Sasuke looked back at him before slowly walking forward and pressing one foot to the trunk tentatively.

It didn't feel any different.

"You must channel your chakra into the soles of your shoes first." Kakashi explained when Sasuke glanced back up at him in question. Drawing one foot away he allowed his white chakra to shine through the boot and light up the child's face.

Sasuke turned away from it and concentrated.

He could feel his chakra moving around and rushing through his legs down to his feet, leaving a slightly burned sensation behind as he pushed enough in to make his feet glow like the shinobi above him had.

_Uh-oh._ Quickly realizing the mistake he had just made Kakashi dropped down and yanked Sasuke away just as the boy pressed his foot back to the bark- earning an explosion of wood that mostly scattered over the Jounin's backside.

Sasuke scowled up at him. "Look what happened!" he demanded. "If you didn't pull me away I could have climbed right up it!" he added.

Kakashi set the boy down. "No, no, that was my mistake. You would have been blown away with so much chakra flowing down to your feet- tell me, do your legs hurt from channeling your chakra through them?" he asked.

Sasuke grimaced.

"I'll take that for a yes. You should never send so much to any part of your body that it shines as I had demonstrated or becomes painful either. You're overloading the coils throughout your body when that happens," he explained.

The Uchiha heir pulled out of his grip and approached the tree again.

Taking a breath he pressed his foot against the bark and was knocked onto his back as the wood burst beneath it again.

Slightly numbed from the blow where fragments had hit him, the eight year old stared at the empty hole where his foot had pressed against the tree.

Behind him Kakashi sighed again. "Try to push only enough that you can feel the flow as a warmth. If it becomes overly hot again slow the flow down or you're using up too much and will become exhausted quickly," he instructed.

Sasuke pushed up to his feet a little slower than before and tried to do as told.

It was, he discovered, harder to do then when he had pushed at it a few minutes earlier.

* * *

_What do you want now, boy?_ the Kyuubi's voice growled at him.

Naruto sighed and walked forward, turning around and placing his back and head against the cage just beneath the seal and sliding down it. "They can't figure out what's wrong with my body," he stated flatly.

The fox stared at his impudence for treating itself like a subdued pet, as though it couldn't rend the flesh from his bones at that range to the gate.

It growled at him and Naruto glanced over one shoulder. "Ah. So sorry your highness," he added in the same tone and rolled away a moment later as one of the fox's paws reached through the cage to slash at where his head had just rested.

"Look, the moment you vanished I couldn't keep up with Sage Mode any longer, and that jutsu Danzo used took full effect. I'm potentially screwed for days if it even wears off at all!" Naruto explained.

The Kyuubi growled at him.

"C'mon, if something happens to my body top-side we're both dead!" he pleaded.

It's nails flickered back and forth in further agitation before slamming against the cage sharply and making him jump.

_Do something about this cage and I'll do something about your body. Otherwise..._ it trailed off darkly.

Naruto stared at it, silently asking what it would do.

Revealing it's multitude of teeth the Kyuubi finished it's thought.

___Otherwise, _I don't have to manifest the next time your life's in danger. Let your precious Sage Mode do the work for once.

_Figures. Why did I even bother?_ Naruto thought.

Shaking his head he turned to walk away. "Forget it. Sandaime will work something out eventually," he called back.

The fox's eyes narrowed at being dismissed and it leveled further killing intent against his retreating backside.

_You'll regret that soon enough, boy. _

* * *

Panting, leg's raw and burning with exhaustion, Sasuke pushed to his feet yet again.

Kakashi had glanced at his watch several times and silently wished it to go faster to no avail as Midnight was in no hurry to come. The marks in the tree showed just how high the Uchiha heir had made it over the last hour and a half.

He no longer listened to Kakashi when the Jounin tried to get him to rest.

He would _not_ fail such a simple exercise.

He _would_ master this technique before sunrise, even if it killed him!

Ignoring the pain as he channeled chakra back through his legs to his feet Sasuke kicked off from a few feet away and ran at the battered bark of the tree.

His shoes partially sank into the surface yet again as he made it to the same point Kakashi had before the bark collapsed and he stumbled, falling to the ground.

Kakashi winced yet again as the boy hit shoulder first into the ground, though at least it had been weakened into a softer soil to allow him to soak up the damage easier.

Pushing his hitai-ate up and staring at Sasuke's chakra coils, he grimaced as they ignited under the strain and made the process all the harder and more painful.

If the child didn't stop and rest soon at the rate he was burning through his reserves, it seemed even more unlikely that he would reach the title of Chunin.

_Get up! Get up and do it again!_ Sasuke berated himself in his brothers voice, picturing Itachi's image before him.

Hatred burned to the surface and he pushed up to his feet again, ignoring the slight sway and the agony it incited.

The protesting of his muscles meant nothing.

Glaring hard enough to set the tree alight Sasuke kicked off from the loose dirt and drove each foot against the tree sharply.

He was just slightly higher than Kakashi when he gave out again, and as before he rose to his feet after a few seconds, and again he pushed himself.

At last he fell and could rise no further, gasping through the pain and frustration of it all... and still seeing his brother's scowling image above, mocking him all the while.

* * *

"We must locate firstly who, and secondly where, the One Tails host is." Danzo ordered the nine men around him.

They no longer wore the white animal masks of the Konoha ANBU, for that would have been a dead give away if they were caught here.

Instead most of them had adapted their clothing and armoring to mirror the local Suna-nin. One or two was indeed dressed as a peasant would in order to blend in with the poor.

Whatever was said at each level of the people would be heard and relayed back to Danzo.

"The genjutsu seal placed over the entrance varies from that we had used in Konoha. The Hokage will likely see Tenzo spared once he is caught if for no reason than to try and unmask our operations in Konoha. Even should he be employed to try and follow us and by chance arrive in Suna, to see the hole that no one else does would be unforgivable," he explained.

"As such the key to the seal on each of you must be altered. Once that is done with your task will begin. It goes without saying that you should not bring any greater attention to our company then needed. Let us begin."

**End Chapter Five.**


	6. Chapter 6: Unfolding wounds new and old

A/N: Thank you deanine, Bobboky, cloystreng, Yumetaka Kourui and Salamander Hanzo! As usual it is much appreciated and so are the favorites and alerts :D

That's not quite it though I can see your points InARealPickle. The Hokage has been under a fair amount of stress even before Naruto arrived and began murking things up. With the trouble Naruto got himself into in addition to the unveiling of a secret group right under his very nose, the Sarutobi isn't feeling very generous toward anyone.

As well precautions were taken to ensure Yamato's loyalty to the Hokage and the like and all the info on Root that he knew was successfully extracted at the time he was interrogated.

Yamato's orders while acting under Danzo were meant to ensure Konoha's survival, but with the Hokage's direct commandment and the breaking of the seals employed against him(and all Root members) Yamato no longer has to obey Danzo and nor would he want to at this point.

He _could_ try and hand Naruto over but the Hokage wouldn't place the jinchuriki in that danger again without good reason, and the boy himself will be on guard against any such actions repeating.

* * *

As the sun rose over Konoha a young boy stared up at the pale orange sky in a state of exhaustion.

The bark scattered across the area ran as far as a dozen feet away, and the soles of his shoes had cracked and melted long ago, inciting burns and blisters to the feet within.

And yet all that mattered to the small raven haired child was the awkward trail of indentation's starting at the base of the tree before him and trailing up to the top of it's branches. His chakra was long since spent to the final drop, his muscles from mid-chest to toes felt raw and torn, and his flesh around his ankles was caked in dried blood.

_But he had done it_.

He had succeeded, and the agony was a welcome side-effect for his accomplishment.

A soft rustling sound from behind followed by quick footsteps entered the area as Kakashi slid off the roll-up bed five meters back from the tree.

"... Well done," he stated quietly as he reviewed the extent of destruction to the boy's chakra coils through the Sharingan.

_It'll be months before he can make up for this one task_, the Jounin thought. _It may be possible to proceed with the taijutsu exercises at a milder rate, but any excess strain could permanently damage what's left of his legs_.

Hoisting the Uchiha heir into the air by the back of his shirt and ignoring the groan of protest, Kakashi carefully brought him over to the rumpled bed and laid him down on it.

"You succeeded in tree-walking at the cost of nearly six months of other training - three months at the very earliest," he stated.

Sasuke made a noise of protest.

"Quiet, your legs are so damaged they can't support your weight even with crutches, and the chakra paths running through them are all but torn open in several places - _that_ more so than anything will take the longest to heal over."

_Six months... I can't waste that kind of time..._

"_Arrgh!_" his thoughts turned from desperation to an agonized groan of more pain as he tried to move one leg into an upright position, and felt like he had dipped it into a pit of boiling flame instead.

Kakashi scoffed above him.

"We're going to the hospital. I'll find something for you to work on in one week to keep your mind off of your legs, but I expect you to actually _listen_ when I train you from now on, Uchiha. Hold on," Kakashi warned as he gripped the edges of the top and bottom of the bedroll and lifted it into the air so as to mostly keep Sasuke's body in a slight slope.

Another noise of pain and protest escaped the boy's lips instead of his agreement or disagreement toward the last subject, and then they were on their way.

A few minutes later, however and Maito Gai finished his first loop around Konoha in time to see the damage to the tree.

The unexpected sight made him do a double-take and slow in his jog.

"Hn!" he exclaimed. "What determined foe struck down such a host of loveliness into this state?" his eyes trailed over to the house of his eternal rival only a short distance away.

Gai shook his head with the decision to investigate properly very shortly.

"I do not know yet, but I shall uncover this truth or do another two hundred laps around Konoha... on my hands!" he swore with a determined glint in his eyes..

* * *

Naruto blinked his eyes open and stretched tiredly - or he would have, if his muscles were not still locked up.

The effect _was_ fading with time, but nothing wanted to respond to his commands more than the occasional twitch.

He felt like screaming in frustration.

Thankfully, someone had forced his body into a relaxed state and he was currently laying down on a fold-out mattress a short distance behind the Hokage's desk. The pale morning light shining in through the windows came to a rest across his face, which happened to be what had awoken him.

_Oh, great. Now I've got to deal with a face full of sunshine and no way to escape?_ he thought dismally. _Uh-uh. No-way. I'm getting out of this stupid jutsu if I have to drag the Kyuubi's nine tails to the surface one at a time!_ he swore.

Unfortunately for him the fox seemed rather intent on denying him it's chakra.

A minutes' swearing didn't help his situation out, after straining to no avail.

At length he clenched his eyes shut and begin trying to relax again.

_Gotta calm down... gotta calm down..._ Naruto chanted as his stomach rumbled pitifully up at him. _Try and gather the energy around you..._ The effort was far harder than before his body decided to lock it self up.

Ten minutes passed before he could feel the swirl of natural power gathering around his form in slow spirals. It felt vaguely awkward from the usual manner of gathering, but sage chakra was sage chakra.

He gathered it into his form and focused intently on what he wanted. Around his eyes the usual red-orange tinge formed as the pupils shifted accordingly to a shade of yellow with the horizontal dash-marks.

A pain in the back of his mind nearly distracted him from completing the transformation into Sage Mode and it continued to grow with every second the passed.

_Rrrgh..._ pushing through it he felt and heard a soft _crack_ echo throughout his mind and the muscles around his arms collapsed from their taut state back to normal.

The rest of his body remained as it was, however.

"Ugh," grunting through the burn as he brought his arms up before him to perform the Shadow Clone technique, he sent two of them to gather up the Hokage before focusing on keeping his sage chakra up.

A minute and much startled noise and exclamations of surprise later and the Sandaime was standing over him in a night robe with the two duplicates at his back.

Naruto waved weakly at him before gesturing down at the rest of his stiff body.

"What happened?" Sarutobi asked him in concern.

A clone answered tiredly for him.

"He's in Sage Mode. The fox is in a snit and won't give up any chakra to counteract the jutsu like it did when we fought Danzo yesterday, and after it sealed up it's power he ran out of sage chakra and the jutsu won out in the end."

Sarutobi glanced between them. "Did you hear or see what Danzo- no, why am I asking?" turning back to Naruto the old Hokage leaned down and stared into his eyes.

"If you could focus on the events of yesterday I could more clearly define just what has happened to you," he stated.

Naruto matched his gaze after a hesitant moment, though unlike the last time as the ninjutsu was used, Sarutobi did not wheel away in discomfort.

He stood up straighter and dug into his robe for a pipe. "It has been a very long time since I last saw Shimura Danzo in combat. Though it startles me to see he possessed a Sharingan, I have seen the technique he utilized against you before," he said in a considering tone.

His clones did not have the patience to wait around.

"Well? What is it?" one asked.

Sarutobi took a few steps away to light the pipe and slide down into his chair before answering.

"It belonged to a member of the Uchiha of course, of that much I am quite certain. This isn't one of their traditional genjutsu or the like, however, as I had previously suspected it to be. No, this is but a very rare Dojutsu unseen in Konoha since before the massacre," he explained.

"That Danzo can wield it explains all too much. I have little doubt what he was able to do to the council over the last year, if indeed it has been merely that little a time since he obtained it," the Sandaime stated with a low sigh, and his expression hardened after a moment.

"That he could compel a number of ANBU to betray their Hokage's trust and authority in the manner in which he did can also be attributed in part to the Dojutsu."

"I can not recall which Uchiha it was that bore this Dojutsu, but it would not matter if I did. What I do know is that it's effect's _can_ be defeated." Sarutobi looked over at the real Naruto.

"Unfortunately it will take more than merely my skill to undo it- _you _must find the will to overcome the binding effects on your own, and once overthrown the grasp it has over your mind will be shattered."

* * *

"Stop it! Leave me alone!" a small red haired child's voice rang throughout the area he was in.

Tears ran down his face as he raised one arm defensively against the black armored shinobi wielding a katana a short distance away, and already droplets of blood splattered the edges of the blade and the sands around them from the thin slash marks running over the child's back.

The assassin grunted in annoyance and leaped into the air with his blade raised overhead.

Looking up at the gleaming metal descending at his head yet again the boy dove forward out of it's direct path and received another cut over his shoulders for it. One foot shot backwards and descended to press down on the boy's back with more than enough force to shove him down into the sand an inch.

Spitting out as much as he could and scrambling to get his feet and arms under him the child cried out in pain as his cuts were cruelly ground on, even as the shinobi turned around without lifting his foot away from them.

"And now you die!" Swinging the sword around and lifting it just over the back of the neck the shinobi thrust downward to finish him off.

The tip cut into his flesh before halting on what felt like a steel rod.

"_What?_"

Pillars of sand rose up and wrapped about the assassin's lower legs and simply _squeezed_, and after only moments a dull _crack_ followed by a sound like mud being trudged through escaped the entrapment, sending a deluge of crimson through it.

The shinobi's screams carried on far louder than the boy's shouts had.

Held in place by what remained of his legs he could only watch though his pain as more sand spiraled through the air around his body in a loose manner, before steadily growing thicker.

His attempts to slash his way free were met with futility as more and more sand rose up into a flowing three hundred and sixty degree radius ring before suddenly shrinking in width, and rising up to form a perfect sphere just above the pillars holding his legs.

A soft rush of air followed as it wrapped tightly around the body and sword and _squeezed_.

The assassins final agonized shout was terminated mid-way through as he was reduced to a fountain of blood with the same squelching noise accompanied by a terrible screech of rending metal.

The now-red sand descended to the floor again with a piece of awkwardly shaped metal the size of a crumpled kunai rolling free of it. Moments later a panting Gaara pushed up from beneath it with eyes streaked through with further tears at the sight of the red sand all around him.

_Didn't mean to.. I didn't mean to.. I didn't mean to..!_ he thought desperately, mouthing the words over and over again as his eye's roamed from the sand to the few villagers nearby and back again.

A short distance away a peasant observed the encounter and mentally went over everything that he had just observed seen to report it back to his master.

* * *

Sasuke fidgeted in bed the entire time the doctor reviewed him.

Kakashi stood near by with his Sharingan active and described what he could of the damage - he could only see the path and how it flowed, and not the individual junctions as a Hyuga could.

"I concur with your original estimate of at least three months as a very positive earliest. The muscles and ligaments are torn so badly right now that even swinging the legs from side to side would probably tear apart what's left. He'll need to have regular chakra injections for the first month alone to compensate for what he lost last night into this morning in order for his body to begin repairing the damage," the doctor told Kakashi in a low voice.

The Jounin grimaced beneath his mask.

"Is there anything that can help him speed up the recovery process?" he questioned in the same tone.

The doctor shook his head and looked back through the notes he had made so far to confirm it.

"No. It'll be a small miracle for him to be running again in six months without suffering from deterioration in the process. Right now he needs proper rest for the progress to begin," the doctor responded.

Facing Sasuke he said aloud, "It will be a long road to recovery, young man, but I fully expect you will succeed in the long run."

His intention to infuse the boy with hope went unnoticed.

With a sigh he turned back to Kakashi and handed him a sheet of paper regarding when the injections would be expected and the side-affects generally associated with them before walking out.

Sasuke looked at him. "I heard all of that," the child stated in a tone dulled by the pain medication. "'_A small miracle..._'" he quoted and trailed off, losing himself to thought.

"Ignore that. You're the last of a powerful line, Sasuke. You'll make progress and than some to compensate for this set back." Kakashi told him seriously.

The boy didn't look as though he heard or cared.

"I'll see what I can do about finding something for training the rest of your body while you're in here."

Further silence met his words, and after a moment the Jounin exhaled softly and turned his attention to the sheet, then headed out of the room.

It wasn't until he was alone that Sasuke spoke again. "_Itachi_ would have found a way to heal in a month. I won't falter... I'll find a way to match that time frame at the least..."

* * *

Hours after it had begun the throbbing pain in the back of his mind faded away and with it so too did the restriction keeping his body locked up like it was.

It was as though every muscle decided to go flat at once the way his stiff posture relaxed into the bed roll.

Naruto opened his eyes and let out a triumphant snarl, his slightly enlarged incisors bared in a smug grin. "_Take that_ you stupid fox! I didn't need your help after all!" he turned to his two clones and they gave him a thumbs up before dispelling.

Sitting up almost put him back down the way his body protested, but he pushed through it and rose unsteadily to his feet.

The Hokage wasn't in the room and his memories from the clones told him that the old man had gone to get ready for official duties or some such elsewhere in the tower.

His joy slipped a little at that and he gave a start as Yamato walked in from outside.

"..." without a word he gave a small nod of the head and drew out a small wooden sheet from within his jacket - on it words were etched and the former ANBU and ROOT member passed it off to the boy.

"Huh?" looking down at the message with one eye and keeping the other warily glanced in the older nin's way, he frowned.

It read, 'This will be our primary way of speaking. My voice is gone and won't be returning, and hand-signs are just too much trouble. Unless my chakra runs low we should be able to get points across fairly easily and often.'

A short distance beneath that and as though it was added as a last minute thought, 'On another note, you have my apologies for the events of yesterday. I may not be the same man you once knew but I hope we can establish a proper friendship in due time.'

Naruto looked up from it and tilted his head to the side in imitation of the way Yamato had looked at him with the mask on before.

"... You don't plan on locking me in a cage and dragging me off to Akatsuki next, do you?" he asked mildly.

Yamato frowned and performed a series of hand seals before a piece of wood grew out of his hand and expanded into a long sheet of wood.

A few beads of sweat dripped off his forehead as he wrote out his response before handing it to the boy with a blank look on his face.

Naruto glanced through it.

'Considering that you are a vital member of Konohagakure and liable to save our collective rectums a handful of times in the events to come, as well as the fact that I am no longer bound to honor or obey the orders of Shimura Danzo, you have no need to question my intentions.'

Going further it continued, 'And that aside, you weigh far too much to tote around like a piece of luggage, and I don't even know where the Akatsuki base is if the urge ever arose, though in the years to come I may consider seeking it out if the rest of our days together have such charming conversations and encounters as it's expected to.'

When Naruto looked up at the older shinobi with a sharp frown a smirk was etched onto Yamato's face.

"Alright, wiseguy. Apology accepted." Naruto stated.

Yamato began to smile until Naruto smirked in his own way and added, "But only if you buy me a few rounds of ramen!"

**End Chapter Six.**


	7. Chapter 7: Beginning each preparation

A/N: Thank you again Bobboky, cloystreng, Adventure Writer 28 and Salamander Hanzo :D I'll try to keep up with the current pace and hold the story's quality at the same time, but it's probably going to start slowing to one update every couple of days or so before much longer.

* * *

"So the boy doesn't have full control over his tailed beast. It only seems to manifest itself when he'll die without it," Danzo stated as his good eye took in the scroll before him.

"That in and of itself will make this process simpler."

Folding it away and placing the scroll back onto the table of stone before him, Danzo approached the narrow hole in the outside wall allowing him to look out upon Sunagakure.

_With the one tails under my grasp, Konoha will gain an impenetrable outer_ defense, he thought.

_ Any who would enter will have to seep through the walls of sand surrounding it, a__nd when that failure Uchiha Itachi decides to betray us any further, the new formation will stall him if nothing else._

Already the ROOT commander was revising and further honing his plans for the years ahead, aiding drastically by the information of what was meant to come.

If he had his way, the jinchuriki would soon find himself raised in a different environment and situation altogether, and when the ROOT was done with him, only one more weapon would be under Danzo's control.

* * *

Yamato looked on in despair as a fourteenth empty bowl was stacked up beside the blond haired pit before him.

Naruto let out a satisfied sigh and leaned back into a stretch, smiling widely.

"Thanks Yamato-taicho!" he said.

Yamato gave him no response as he dug into his pockets for the ryo to cover the outrageous meal.

Teuchi gave the other man a pitiful look. "Really, sir, how did you not know who you were buying lunch for?" the shop owner questioned rhetorically.

"Naruto _always_ packs away a hefty amount of noodles!" after a moment he turned back to the register, ringing things up.

"Anyway that'll be..." the number stated made Yamato's expression sour further as he turned his head to give the endless eating machine a dark look, and with reluctance paid for the family sized meal.

Putting away the ryo Teuchi turned back to them. "Next time I'll give you ten percent off," he said with a knowing smirk.

Yamato merely grimaced and nodded his head before sliding out of the seat and dragging Naruto with him.

The jinchuriki smiled at the shop owner and waved cheerily as he was hauled off, content and full for the first time since he arrived.

* * *

A few minutes later they stopped at Naruto's tiny apartment and stepped inside.

Naruto immediately sought out a chair and plopped down into it, at ease.

Yamato formed another sheet of wood a moment later and pushed it somewhat roughly into the child's hands with a disgruntled noise.

'I'm considering retracting that apology! Your response earlier was drastically out of proportion with the meal size! _A few bowls_? I counted _fourteen_ of them!'

Naruto shrugged after scanning it.

"I'm sure you'll earn the ryo back in a few weeks. Either way I've already accepted your apology so you can't take it back!" he grinned.

Yamato's expression promised retribution in due time.

A moody silence lapsed after that as the Jounin examined the surroundings and Naruto turned his thoughts toward what to do, now that he more-or-less had the Hokage's permission and Yamato's assistance if he needed it.

_Sasuke can handle himself for a little while longer. Gaara's situation is the one that really needs to be worked on before he becomes locked into his homicidal state of mind,_ Naruto thought, _the problem is how to get into Suna without attracting unwanted attention, and I'm pretty sure stopping another daily assault on their jinchuriki is going to attract a lot of it._

"Hey Yamato-taicho," he piped up suddenly. The elder nin scowled, but turned his attention around regardless.

"Have you ever been to Sunagakure before?" he asked.

The Jounin raised his hands after a moment and formed another, if rather smaller, sheet.

'No. Why?' it read.

Naruto just grinned wider at him.

"Well here's your chance! I have, and I know precisely where to go."

Another sour expression crossed Yamato's face as he gave his response.

'The Hokage needs to know before you go off to cause an inter-village scandal.'

Naruto shrugged.

"So we go looking like Otonin or something - and speaking of which, getting a start on Kabuto and Orochimaru's bases would probably be a good idea afterward." He stated calmly.

Yamato rolled his eyes heavenward as if in question for what he had done to deserve this, and Naruto caught it and smirked again.

"Maybe we'll grab Jiraiya-san along the way so you have some proper back up. Besides, he was supposed to have a network of his own in place so he should be able to help out fairly easily."

Yamato did not grace him with an answer.

* * *

Kakashi was in the middle of thinking about what he could do for Sasuke when a voice he recognized and in-part loathed called to his attention.

"My eternal rival! At last I've apprehended you!"

Looking up from the sheet in his hands the Copycat Ninja saw Konoha's 'Noble Green Beast' as he was calling himself even now striding forward quickly.

_Nope, not this time friend,_ he thought as he reached into his pocket and drew out a single kunai.

Slinging it out some distance away Kakashi waited until Gai was nearly on him before trading places with the soaring weapon, and further performing the hand seals for the Body Flicker technique even before he was fully across.

Gai's eyebrows met in determination and he knocked the weapon aside as Kakashi fled.

"Aha! You do know something of this innocent tree's fate!" he called across the distance, and with that kicked off from the ground to rush after his eternal rival.

Kakashi looked over one shoulder to see Gai rushing up from behind and grimaced beneath his mask.

Another shunshin later and to his distaste the other shinobi seemed to have tapped into a whole new degree of determination, arms swinging back and forth rapidly and legs seemingly a blur.

His broad grin reflected the sunlight so brightly Kakashi was almost blinded by it.

"No time for this right now, Maito!" he yelled back and put further distance between them.

It was only at that point that he realized with a face-palm that the other man had tricked him into one of their fruitless challenges.

Performing the hand seals for the Shadow Clone jutsu he patted the poor thing on the shoulder and gave it a thumbs up and a, "Good luck! Stall him!" before pushing it forward and heading off further ahead and out of sight.

Gai rushed past the clone shortly thereafter, paying it no attention to chase after his true eternal rival.

The clone watched him go for about a minute before sighing and shaking it's head.

_Nice try Gai, nice try. You just chased after another clone,_ it thought, dispelling itself as the real Kakashi broke up through the dirt where he had been and shook the soil loose from his hair.

"Maybe next time, _eternal rival,_" he murmured in distaste as he made his way back toward his home.

It was as such to his disbelief to find the object of his loathing rounding the corner of Konoha nearest and dashing back into view, and after staring for several useless seconds, he accepted the inevitable for the moment.

Hardly out of breath the other Jounin came to a halt a few feet from Kakashi and smiled brightly at him.

"An underhanded tactic for sure, but you'll still never dampen my flames of youth, Sharingan Hatake!" Gai stated in a teasing manner.

Kakashi bristled at the two terms.

"You said something about a tree, Gai. What is it?" he questioned flatly.

Maito nodded his head sharply.

"Ah yes! Do you possess knowledge over who would dare strike down this visage of beauty in which I pass every morn?" the other Jounin asked while gesturing toward the tree Sasuke had used for practice the night before.

Kakashi glanced between them.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously. _Somehow I doubt this is going to end well,_ he added silently.

Gai gave him a knowing look.

"I recognize that shrewdness, Sharingan Hatake! You know indeed something of this tree's plight. Out with it!" though his look in turn became suspicious his tone remained light the entire time.

Visible eye narrowing, Kakashi answered him at length.

"... I was teaching an academy student how to tree climb. He's in the hospital recovering."

Gai frowned.

"How badly could a student harm themselves on such a frugal method?" he asked in a more serious tone for once.

"Determination and poor chakra control for the technique." Kakashi told him simply.

After another moment and the same questioning look still leveled at him, Kakashi continued.

"I've seen something of his skills before, and the boy is very good when he put's his mind to a task and normally doesn't have much trouble. I just don't think he's ever really tried channeling chakra so far from _his core before._.." the last few words were murmured as he realized something to distract Sasuke from his legs.

Gai looked back at the tree and his frown deepened.

"... This is an unfortunate occurrence. I will see to it the tree returns to it's former state if you agree to aide the student back to his own recovery?" he asked.

Kakashi scoffed.

"Of course. I've already taken him on as my apprentice. But even _you_ can't make a tree grow any faster, Gai," he said with a hint of arrogance.

Maito's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"_You_, Sharingan Hakate, have _taken on_ an academy _apprentice_?" he repeated in a tone of voice that made it sound as though Kakashi had just announced he was planning to move a mountain by hand.

The other shinobi frowned at him in turn.

"... Special circumstances have arisen." He stated flatly. "If that's all, Maito, I have things I need to attend to."

Turning away and walking back into his small house Kakashi missed the calculating gleam that entered the other Jounin's eyes behind him.

_Now I must truly determine another who who also bares the flames of youth as myself! My eternal rivals disciple shall have an eternal rival of his own!_

* * *

Sarutobi returned to his office and found Naruto sitting on the desk and snoring lightly.

_This should be informing, if nothing else._

"Naruto," he called to get his attention.

The boy didn't stir.

Raising an eyebrow he drew out his pipe and rapped the boy lightly on the shin.

It was unfortunate for him that the eyes flicked open in surprise before the body fell into smoke and faded.

Sarutobi stared at where the now-apparent clone had been in disbelief before raising a hand and rubbing his eyes wearily, and it was only then that he noticed the small and flat section of off colored wood resting where the clone had been sitting.

Picking it up in curiosity he read the message left behind. 'Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto has decided to rescue a future enemy-turned-friend. ~Yamato-tenzo.' The use of Yamato's former ANBU title was probably a jab at Sarutobi, and one he would sort out later.

The immediate problem as he saw it was that Naruto was probably going to stir up trouble; perhaps not intentionally and through no fault of his own, but merely his presence, which seemed to attract it wherever he went.

Settling down into his chair he placed the warning aside and focused on the stack of paperwork for today to distract him from those very unpleasant thoughts.

* * *

"When should we move against him, sir?" one of the Root ANBU asked.

Danzo had given this more than enough thought, and he answered after a moment.

"We wait for two more days. The next time an assassain prepares to attack, go forward and kill them, and henge into their form once you've disposed of the corpse. Utilize your speed if needed to subdue the jinchuriki and bring him here." Danzo stated.

The other man nodded his head and bowed before turning and waiting for the time to emerge back into the village without notice.

_Your will shall be bent to my own, jinchuriki. Your life shall be forfeit to Konoha's survival and future._

* * *

Sasuke turned from the window beside him as Kakashi entered that evening and stared at him dully.

"... It took less time than I expected to prepare something of interest." Kakashi told him.

The Uchiha heir barely stirred.

Swallowing a grimace, the Jounin held up up a small and gray if battered book, and looked down on the child.

"This book will guide you through flowing chakra out to each section of your body - though I warn you not to try out anything you see upon your legs. If you wish to practice you will not do so until I am here to ensure nothing goes wrong, and you will only use one of your arms and fingers at a time. Do you accept these terms?" he asked.

Sasuke glanced between the object and man twice before giving a small nod of the head and lifting one hand palm up toward it.

"Hn.." Kakashi offered it to the child slowly as though doubting the others sincerity to obey him.

Slowly flipping it open Sasuke looked through the first few pages without a word of thanks.

This time he did sigh softly, and sinking down into a nearby chair, Kakashi closed his eye and waited for the last Uchiha to get through at least a few chapters.

_At the rate his attention is holding at that should take more or less a couple of hours,_ he thought dismissively, and resigned himself to whittling away the time in remembrance.

It wasn't long before he dozed off, and when he awoke some hours later, a pair of needles attached to clear and nearly-empty vials were injected into the boy's abdomen, and one of the Hyuga- clan branch-members stood nearby observing the process with the Byakugan.

"Awake at last, Hakate. Your... _apprentice_, if you truly think such a term is befitting of you after this level of destruction, has sustained far heavier wounds than I would have expected for a child his age," he stated.

Kakashi scowled and turned toward him, embarrassed at himself as much as he was anything else.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned in a flat tone.

The other man laughed just as flatly back at him before answering in a grim tone.

"The doctor wanted an _experts_ opinion on the damage to the chakra pathways."

Looking down at the other shinobi, he added haughtily, "Your _Sharingan_ didn't deliver _half _the information needed and _couldn't_ see where it was needed for the chakra injections to be made."

Turning away from him and toward where Sasuke was watching them, he continued to verify the injected flow was going as it needed to.

Kakashi held his tongue and turned toward the child. _Save it for later,_ he thought.

To his surprise Sasuke looked more alive in the eyes now than he had since arriving in the hospital, and based off of where his finger was resting in the book, he had progressed far further than just the first few chapters.

"I'm almost done," he responded to Kakashi's look in a voice of mild pain.

The new chakra burned very warmly as it passed throughout his system and it really was uncomfortable.

"Just how long was I asleep?" the Jounin asked the Hyuga as he looked out a window to see it had grown dark outside.

A grunt of dismissal was his only answer, but at length the Hyuga relented.

"Long enough. I entered here an hour ago after Hiashi-sama decided who to send to answer the doctor's request."

Kakashi had nothing more to say at that.

No doubt the Hokage would want to know what was going on if he hadn't already heard, and for now his charge was in good -_ more_ than good enough care.

"I'll be back before long, Uchiha," he said to Sasuke before standing up and departing.

About fifteen minutes passed without incident and the Hyuga stepped forward to draw out the now-empty injection needles.

"Relax your stomach and take several deep breaths. On the fourth exhalation I shall draw the first out," he explained.

Sasuke nodded without verbally answering and did as he was told - the pain was just as bad going out as it had been going in, but at least it was done with soon enough.

Pressing a small cloth to the slightly bleeding wound the Hyuga told him to repeat the motions and again drew out the second needle and set it aside, then went the extra step to perform the minor healing jutsu required to seal up the cuts.

"I'll return with another set in six hours, child. If you feel your body reacting strangely until that point alert Hakate and tell him to send for Hyuga Ko, understand?" he told the boy.

Sasuke nodded his head silently.

Ko's eyes thinned as he gave one last once-over to the pathways before turning the Byakugan off and waiting by the doorway for the Jounin to return.

**End Chapter Seven.**


	8. Chapter 8: Dealings in sand

A/N: Thank you as usual to my readers and subscribers!

I'll be aiming to get the chapters closer to 18 or 20 KB before uploading them from now on, cloystreng :) The last several were mostly between 14-15 KB on average.

Thanks Bobboky, Adventure Writer 28 and Lord of Murder :)

hggkhkhtdui7.8t7kd: By all means feel free to speak your mind. I only ask that you do the other reviewers if nothing else the courtesy of censoring your insults.

Much appreciated Stiehl. I'd agree with you that canon wise Sasuke can fall into such a category; which is all the more reason I'm trying to give him something more to go on living for. I don't intend to alter his persona so far that it fades from being recognizable as Sasuke however but more... pleasant I suppose. Not on Naruto's level of cheeriness but not a sulking one-track either. Thank you for the review.

* * *

Trudging forward through the sands on the way to Sunagakure in an eight-years old body definitely ranked up there on Naruto's list of things to avoid doing again. At least the last time he had made the trek he was tall enough to avoid getting his eyes, nose, and mouth full of the grainy material.

No matter how he adjusted his cloak or hood it found a way through. If he had just brought those old goggles from before he received his hitai-ate at least he could have seen properly! Just ahead of him Yamato was having a much easier time of things with a wooden replica of his former ANBU mask and hood drawn up fully.

_Bleh!_ turning to the side to spit yet again Naruto grimaced as he ducked his head and tried to peer through one hand ahead._ Was it always this windy so close to Suna?_ he thought. _I'm definitely taking this trip back on Yamato-taicho's shoulders!_ his conclusion would probably have earned a light slap upside the head if voiced aloud at their current point in the journey just two days out from Konoha.

Glancing around in frustration he thought he could make out a faint outline far ahead and on their right.

* * *

_Why does everyone hate me?_ the small red-haired child thought in despair as yet another group of villagers scrambled over themselves to get out of his sight. A single kunai whistled as it cut through the air and neatly sliced through one of his cheeks to draw out a sharp inhalation and gasp of pain.

Quickly pressing one hand to the thin line of red he turned to stare at his next attacker with wide pale blue eyes. It was to his surprise not another assassin but rather an aged villager leaning against a wall for support.

"Just die already, you damned brat!" the old man hissed. Tears welled up within Gaara's eyes as the former shinobi reached down to his belt for another weapon and for just a brief moment their looked each other eye-to-eye.

For just a moment blue faded to jagged black and yellow points. The old man let out a terrified shout and leaned back away from the killing intent leaking free from the red haired demon in front of him. Gaara blinked in confusion before panic set in again as the other man sank to his knees clutching at his heart, alternating between shouts and whispers in his final few seconds.

The child took a step back as his head swiveled around to look at the others glaring back at him from windows with hatred and fear. _Why! Why!_ his internal shouts were cut off as an alien feeling drove itself through his heart and stole away his consciousness.

No one moved toward the boy or the old man even after ten minutes had passed with both laying in the sands. The sight of said sands swirling about their demon container and pressing tightly about his skin only further unnerved them.

* * *

"W... wh.. where am I?" Gaara's voice was faint and weak as he looked up from the ground toward the darkness all around him. A trickle of light far overhead ran down to illuminate the area in a small circle around his form.

Dark blue light and jagged yellow slash marks rose up from the shadows outside of that circle surrounding him and the sheer anger and malice that fell against him from it far outstripped anything he had ever felt from the villagers. _You. _the tone dripped with the same feeling as before and a low snarling pressed against his eardrums painfully.

Covering up the nearest of them with his hand Gaara looked around himself for someway to get away from the horrible feeling of looming death. A single tan-toned tail slammed into the ground just beside the circle and made him jump and fall backwards to the very edge behind him.

_You are the most pitiless creature I have ever laid eyes upon. You continue to subject the both of us to constant threat of death by refusing to show those maggots who is lord of the village._ the disappointment in the voice cut into his flesh as sharply as his fathers own words.

_Rise upward and accept my strength!_ _Teach them all the power of the Shukaku!_ it suddenly whispered to him in a voice so soft and friendly that for a moment Gaara thought a new person or creature or whatever it was had spoken from the darkness.

Then it pressed against the light as close as it could and the tall and swirling sand coated One Tailed Shukaku entered his full field of vision with it's black and yellow eyes both condemning and forgiving him, it's dark blue marks shining in their own terrible way. It bared it's teeth in a black grin and allowed the brunt of it's disappointment and wrath to descend on the human before it.

And Gaara could do nothing to tear his eyes free as it pressed harder and harder against the protective field keeping it out of the light and therefore contained within him. _Take me up and destroy them all!_ it growled, and the child found himself unable to either halt it's descent toward him or the tears that flowed from his eyes as memories floated to the surface of his bitter life.

A piercing laughter filtered through the air as the Shukaku took it's first steps to freedom in a very, very long time by sinking the humans mind into despair.

* * *

"Halt! What purpose do you have in this place?" the first guard snapped at the two figures pushing through the worst sandstorm Suna or the outcropping lands around it had suffered since the Shukaku was last active.

A tall figure cleared the storm first and approached several more feet into the canyon before sliding his protective facial protector aside and shook loose sand from his cloak and shawl. The striked-through hitai-ate declared him to be a defect from Konoha. He turned without answering toward his companion a little ways back and so to did the guard, glancing between them.

A slightly shorter blond woman trudged through in a very battered and torn outfit. Her flowing hair nearly trailed the ground as she pressed against a side of the passage and panted. Two of the active guards eyes descended and took in the pleasing sight as the third watched the man closely, smelling a deception or trap in the making.

The man turned toward them and slowly drew out a broken kunai which in turn caught their attention again. He gestured with a stabbing motion toward his own throat with wide eyes and then clutching at it as though it were bleeding terribly.

Sighing and placing the object back within his cloak he mouthed something about Konoha's medics saving his life. "What... my partner.. is telling you... is that... he lost.. his voice.." the woman panted, leaning on her knees now as though oblivious to the fairly obvious result in her tattered cloths.

"Hn... so what are you doing here, then?" one of the guardsmen questioned as his eyes rose and fell slowly. She didn't answer. The man with her again slowly reached into his cloak and drew out a wooden tablet. He showed them the carved out message and both sides to show it had no hidden notes before tossing it lightly forward to their feet.

One bent down without taking his eyes away from them despite the enjoyable sight and cautiously read the note. "'Seeking refuge and better medical attention before it's too late for my voice box. Konoha's best failed me.'" the guard read aloud then looked at the other two.

"... Deposit any and all weapons including that kunai where you are. After that we'll see what a _search _turns up." giving the blond another once-over the one holding the message gestured for the duo to get to it.

An exasperated sigh escaped the man as he pulled out another couple of kunai and shuriken before dropping them to the ground. The woman looked up at them blankly. "I lost most of mine in the sandstorm." she said in a sad tone with a pout.

"Hmm. You, search _him_. _I'll_ search the blond." dropping the tablet to the ground and approaching with what looked like a pained grimace at trying so hard not to grin, his hands roamed as they pleased for several moments before a truly pained expression crossed his face and the eyes rolled upward. "I will never get tired of using Oiroke no Jutsu to great effect." Naruto's voice piped up from where the tablet had been resting on the ground.

Emerging from the back of each guards neck was a shuriken. While not immediately lethal, if they did not receive medial aide soon enough the wounds _would_ kill them in time. Naruto sent out a pair of Oiroke clones for each guard to fully subdue them and then follow into Suna after a lengthy period.

* * *

Watching as the chakra flowed from his fingertips was intriguing. The book mentioned something about attaching it to an inanimate object- like a kunai as the basic example and being able to draw it back after thrown or even altering the path by leaving a thin 'string' behind to connect it to his fingers.

So far he didn't have anything to attach it to besides his book but that hardly mattered. He already knew exactly what he wanted to do with the technique in another couple of weeks or so. As the doctor had said and the Hyuga injecting him with chakra had verified movement would only be detrimental to his legs for at least that time frame.

He idly attached it to a page in the book and flipped it over with a slightly awkward twitch of his fingers. Beside him Kakashi observed the process with a nod of the head. "Good job, Sasuke. You're picking this up far faster then I would have expected and certainly with much better control than your Tree-walking 'mastery'." the Jounin said catching the childs attention.

Looking up at him Sasuke nodded his head without much emotion showing. He didn't want the older shinobi to guess at what he was intending to do with the technique but he couldn't underplay his control just yet. It took too much concentration to do that. With another rough flick of his fingertips he sent the next page over and then disconnected the thread from that page.

_If he keeps that up I may have to find another book for him to read- it's only been two days and already his progress is startling. Something more complex but still capable of him once he can move about on his own again might be able to slow him down a little. _ Kakashi thought as he observed the last Uchiha before him.

"Alright, that's enough for today. You can't use too much chakra or the injections won't be truly effective. Keep reading the normal way if you want to or ask me any questions you might have." he told Sasuke. The boy shrugged noncommittally at him and flicked through another few pages.

Both turned however at the sound at a series of light rapping against the door frame and a shiny black bowl-headed man stuck his neck in. "Ah... so this is the boy Sharingan Hatake has chosen as his disciple." Guy murmured softly. Kakashi rose to his feet before the sentence was completed and dragged the other Jounin out of the room before trouble could arise from their meeting.

He completely missed the small boy standing in Guy's shadow and just beside the door frame. Sasuke was at a better angle to catch sight of him and stared at the long haired child in something like curiosity when he made no motion to either step forward or leave. At last the other boy took a cautious step forward and gave a slight and swift bow of the head before rising to full height and almost shouting "I am your ete-eternal rival! Rock Lee!" and then rushing after his newly acquired sensei.

_What the hell? Eternal rival?_ the bewildered expression left on Sasuke's face at the strange encounter would repeat it self in the time to come.

* * *

Rising unsteadily to his feet slightly darker eyes looked about Suna as an expression of anger crossed his features. They settled again on the old man who had slit his cheek earlier and his eyebrows met in further frustration. _They'll going to blame me again... I didn't even do anything to hurt him!_ Gaara thought.

Turning away and heading back toward his house- for it was most certainly not a _home_ in the loving, tender sense that most children would call one, but rather another place of torment at the efforts of his father and brother.

A soft whoosh caught his attention and a swirl of sand erupted from around his feet to capture the empty bottle an inch from the back of his head. Turning slowly toward the attacker he saw a startled expression before a window was slammed shut and locked up. Grimacing he shattered the bottle without realizing it and continued again.

Gaara had no idea that he was being watched by more than just hateful villagers. Unknowingly his fathers next sent assassin was laying in wait off ahead with no idea of the capabilities his target could wield, yet the one's who were watching him at present were also silently shadowing his movements in preparation.

When the assassin fell toward Gaara with his tanto drawn he was captured in the hands of two different shinobi and decapitated by the wire trailing between their wrists. The entire ordeal took place two dozen feet over the jinchuriki's head without him realizing it, and by the time the strange coppery scent caught his nose it was far too late to directly halt the movements against him.

That, of course, did not mean that the would-be killer and then shortly-discovered partner wouldn't return to their base without first losing a limb or two in the process from the driving sands swirling to life.

* * *

"Aah, Suna. Home to more jinchuriki-hating villagers, homicidal Kazekage, and a desperate-for-a-friend demon container." Naruto intoned softly as he set foot within the boundary of the village for the first time in this life since coming back. It reminded him fairly sadly of his own childhood except for the Kazekage bit.

Yamato was less enthused about the whole ordeal. It was decidingly uncomfortable to have had to deal with boy's so called 'Sexy Jutsu' to get into the village even after Naruto explained the plan in fairly good and perverted detail.

His most pressing matter was to keep his eyes peeled for any red-haired children in the area... or his ears ready for the screams of pain Naruto forewarned him would probably crop up when the One Tails decided to make itself known. Whoever this Gaara was it seemed unlikely that things would go very pleasantly for any of them at that point.

"Well! Now that we're here the first place we should head to is the Kazekage's house. Gaara's _bound_ to show up there sooner or later, assassination attempt or no and it might be possible to at least get his dad to lay off the attacks if nothing else." Naruto declared after looking around the general area.

Yamato could feel his blood pressure rising and his previous decision to go along with this whole plan taking a nose dive with the thought of intimidating the Kazekage into obedience. He formed another sheet of wood and pressed it to Naruto's hands with a slightly maddened look in his eyes.

The boy glanced from sheet to face and paled at the dark and frankly spooky expression relayed there. 'Do not get Konoha involved in a new war! It's bad enough what you did to get us here!' it read. "Alright, alright! We'll just scout out for now I guess." Naruto relented as he took a step back. Yamato kept the look up for another couple of moments in payback before relaxing and smiling wearily at him.

* * *

Danzo looked upon the host of the One Tailed Shukaku and was surprised by the intensity of his return stare and the state of the Root members carrying him in. Without an immediate source of sand the jinchuriki would have to dredge it up from the rock around them.

The elder shinobi had no intention of allowing that. "Come." he intoned flatly as he gestured and the panting, blood soaked duo followed with Gaara trapped between them. Danzo gestured toward a small pool of water in a hollowed out chuck of the ground. "Deposit him there and leave." they hastened as sand began gathering into the air again.

A splash filled the air as Gaara sank up to his nose in water. Sputtering as he struggled to get up above the surface he locked eyes with the leader of the kidnappers and felt his limbs go limp. His body fell beneath the surface and his head with it this time.

Leaning over the small body of water Danzo ticked off the seconds until at last he reached in and drew the jinchuriki's head just above. Gasping for breath Gaara struggled to break free as the man spoke. "If you do not swear on your life to obey my every order and command from this hour forth, I swear in turn to drown your host and kill you the Shukaku in the process. Do you hear that, beast? I expect an answer!"

**End Chapter Eight.**


	9. Chapter 9: Storm of grains swirl forth

Tristan76: Danzo and his Anbu move pretty swiftly. It didn't take more than a full 20 hours at top speed just to get into Suna and set up shop, and it's been another few days since that just to scout things out and recover in the process.

He really isn't worried about Sarutobi at present. His concern is Itachi's betrayal down the line and what he learned of Orochimaru's return likewise. Getting a hold of Gaara and subduing his will is only the beginning of Danzo's operations to prevent certain events from coming to play in the years ahead as well as setting himself up to take over Sarutobi's role as Hokage once they _do_ return to Konoha.

On the note of a ruckus: Sunagakure's people don't even try to stop someone from killing Gaara, and his father actually hire's the people who keep on going at it. Why would they bother trying to stop him from being stolen? The people of the village would be thrilled to be rid of him. Now any ANBU or Jounin of Suna might have a thing or two to say if they happened to catch sight of the kidnapping, but in all probability they would likely expect the Shukaku to finish off anyone stupid enough to try it before the situation got too far out of hand.

Lord of Murder: Heh. We'll just have to see how _that_ plays out.

thechickenlittle: We'll see indeed, especially with his tailed beast active :)

Cueil: I wasn't expecting Kushina to crop up at all so that kind of put a wrench into my original point of time, which was supposed to be not long after defeating the Kyuubi but preparing to try and stop Madara and his Moons Eye plan- so anywhere from three to six months more or less.

But now we know she shows up so I have to either change that time-frame or alter the sequence of events that would have led to her showing up in the mind-scape. Either could create problems with chapters already in place. For the moment until we know more of how the conclusion to the battle will turn out I'm going to try and keep any reference to Kushina under wraps.

It should also be noted however that the Past Kyuubi at this point did not enter into the same battle of wills with Future Naruto when he showed up. It sensed his strength and they came to a loose agreement after much talk- but it can and still wants to take over and break free. It already threatened him with that back against Danzo for taking so long.

Yumetaka Kourui: Thank you. I didn't mean for the update to take this long to be posted but I haven't had the same amount of time lately as I did when I first started writing the story.

Thank you all.

* * *

_Rage_ is an emotion rarely given into on more than simply an impulse, and yet Gaara had never before felt it flow through his blood more clearly or painfully hot then at that moment, not even through all the attempts against his life or the resultant reactions from his father following them.

It was always a small burning flame of anger hardly kindled and usually angled more toward guilty confusion and misunderstanding of his situation. Now, with the Shukaku awoken to his conscious thought and dwelling just beneath the surface that tiny flame erupted into a blaze of fury directed at a man hoping to kill him yet again- and it was not fully his own.

The rocky outcropping housing the small Root base shuddered violently as several pieces broke and fell to the ground in a rapid decay toward sand. Danzo's good eye widened as he glanced around and drew out a single kunai in a blur of motion so that between one instant and another it was slammed harshly against the jinchuriki's throat.

"_One move, beast, and I kill him._" Danzo threatened in a decidingly quiet and hard tone of voice. Pale blue faded to black and yellow as Gaara's mouth moved independently of his will and a malicious laugh escaped from his throat despite the action pressing the blade tighter against it with each motion. A thin slash was left in the surface of his skin.

A moment later and the momentarily silent and still sands swirled back to life and soared at Danzo's head. The shinobi slashed across the childs throat and grimaced as sand burst from the boy's very skin- a thin layer held together by chakra just over the real surface of flesh even in the water around him- and tore the blade from his grip.

Both releasing the childs hair and ducking to the side and rolling away Danzo drew in a deep lungful of air and brought his hands together before himself in mid-motion. A moment later and the rocky floor before the small pool of water cracked with another violent shudder as further rock was now driven _upward_ and dissolved, mixing in with the previous amount in the air.

At the same time Gaara sank beneath the surface of the pool as Danzo released his head and the anger for a moment was displaced by panic again when nothing responded to his command. _I've already unbound his pathetic Dojutsu and taken control of your body in it's place, just as you agreed upon earlier._ the Shukaku's voice informed him in an undeniably satisfied tone beneath the malice it contained.

Water drained quickly into the fissure. Danzo growled to himself at how quickly things were falling out of his control in the cramped space around him and exhaled in several directions with the Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves.

Rents tore through the blockade of sand as it rushed thickly toward him again and the elder shinobi forced his way through it with a modification to Wind Release: Stream, spinning his body around sharply. Emerging closer to the exit again as grains embedded in his clothing were thrown free, Danzo turned back toward the jinchuriki with frustration displayed on his face.

_This is falling far short of my expectations._ he thought. He was forced to repel another assault with another of his Wind Release techniques, Vacuum Wave, and then to his disbelief a small hand reached up and pulled the soaked body free of the hole where the water used to reside. Fury blazed from black and yellow deformed irises as the mouth split into a wide if demented grin.

* * *

"What exactly do you think you are doing here, Guy?" Kakashi asked him in an annoyed tone at the end of the hallway. The other Jounin shrugged and slipped free of his grip and looked back toward where his new disciple was hesitating at the doorway.

"Well. Looks like the little guy's still not ready. No matter! I shall help him grow out of his shell... or do another two hundred laps around Konoha!" Guy swore almost to himself more so than Kakashi. Said one-eyed Jounin rolled that eye toward the ceiling in dismay and turned to face Guy again.

"Don't tell me that you've-" he began to say. Grinning fiercely his eternal rival rotated and pointed down the hall sharply toward where the small boy had just strode inside and bowed.

"Indeed I have, Sharingan Hatake! Lee-san too bares my Flames of Youth- if only embers at this point in time! I will kindle that flame and stroke the embers until a veritable firestorm reigns down upon him from within!" the smile was so bright Kakashi could almost swear Guy was using a genjutsu on him.

"Alright, alright! Calm down." he stated. A moment later and the new boy came running down the hall toward them and screeched to a stop slightly beside and behind his new master. He looked terribly embarrassed. "... May I inquire as to what you just said to my apprentice?" Kakashi asked.

The other boy looked up at him and gave a start of panic. _Why's it always this way whenever I'm around kids? Seriously? One look at me and they go nuts! _the Jounin thought in dismay as he looked back to the other shinobi.

Placing a hand to Rock Lee's shoulder in a calming motion Guy explained their point in coming here. "A healthy eternal rivalry-" and here Kakashi groaned slowly as if in true physical pain at hearing those words, "begins at a youthful age! As I am to you, so shall Lee-kun be to Sasuke-san." both Jounin finished on different notes, one in pride and the other dismay.

"... We'll discuss this 'genius' idea of yours later, Guy." with a partially disturbed expression on what was revealed of his face he stepped around the duo. "Goodbye, Lee-san." he added to the small academy student as he passed.

"Well! That could have fared better, but nevertheless my student! You did well in your opening speech to your eternal rival, but I sense much could still be done to refine your next greeting! Let us go, Lee-kun, and start your next preparations!" with startling excitement flowing from every word he said, the shinobi smiled brightly at his apprentice and waited for a slightly weaker smile in return before striding toward the exit.

Lee followed after a brief glance back to see the other two seemingly in argument over something. A moment later and he hurried after his new master in a swirl of confusion.

* * *

Making their way inward wasn't a problem. It actually felt kind of refreshing at his bodies current age to not be oppressed so sharply by everyone they passed on the sandy streets. What wasn't pleasant was the trail of blood and the disturbance leading right toward the very entrance that he and Yamato-taicho emerged out of.

As far as he could tell someone had either made one hell of a stir trying to escape from Gaara and the boy had completely annihilated all traces of the victim, or something just as ominous may have occurred to him instead.

_No, nothing went _that_ badly to Gaara... did it? He never mentioned anyone ever kidnapping him from the village before. Then again... maybe old man Hokage was onto something after all. Maybe something _has_ happened to him now?_ he thought with a hint of concern forming.

A low rumble from within his mind and a moment later he found himself sniffing at the air, at the scent of the blood. Yamato stopped and stared at him and that clued the boy in over what he was doing. With an embarrassed look he stated with a flat surety "It's not Gaara's. Stupid fox must have decided to lend me a bit of it's senses."

_You going to start behaving again?_ he sent toward where it dwelt. His sense of smell suddenly amplified so sharply that even half a dozen feet away it smelt like he was literally standing in a blood bath. That, however, was not all.

A moment later an image floated back to the surface of Naruto in Sage Mode and hogtied on a silver platter baring an apple stuffed into his mouth and the Kyuubi holding a knife and fork over his squirming, slightly roasted-yet-clearly-conscious form.

Naruto gagged violently at the double-teaming. _BLEH! Stop that!_ he shot back at it as he turned from the trail and backpedaled back toward Yamato. A long and low snicker answered him.

Yamato placed a hand to his shoulder in question at Naruto's slightly widened-eyed, nauseated look. After another few seconds the scent died away and he was able to purge the image from his mind. "Urgh... I'm fine, Yamato-taicho. Remind me not to tempt the fox again." he responded.

'Are you sure?' a wooden sheet read a few seconds later.

"Yeah... thank you." looking at the way the others were now staring at them he realized he must have made some kind of embarrassing noise as he reeled back from the fox's retaliation to his attitude.

Shaking his head Naruto decided to just ignore them and instead said what he thought may have happened before they arrived concerning Gaara. Yamato did not answer him for several seconds in consideration.

'I'll scout ahead and report back in ten minutes. _You_ stay here and don't make any more trouble.' his answer read out after a few more moments. Naruto nodded his head reluctantly after a reminder of Yamato's death-look crushed any notion of disagreeing.

Before much longer had passed a low rumble shook the area. _What the hell was that?_ Naruto thought as he pushed up off the wall he had been leaning on and looked around. Based on the confused staring of the villagers no one else had a clue either.

The next two were a little less violent and came shortly after the original. Yamato trotted back fairly sooner than expected with his hands already performing hand-seals. 'Somethings happening to the wall... I don't know what and I don't know if I can do anything to find out without some crack to take advantage of.' his sheet read out.

Neither yet noticed how many people were gathered around the same location they were with looks of mingled interest and mild irritation. Root was stuck outside in the sands as their leader was left to deal with the jinchuriki within, and all because of the very same problem that had made them abandon Kohoha's base.

* * *

A blade of wind chakra cut through the pillar of sand attempting to wrap around his body and Danzo reached out and wrapped a hand into the jinchuriki's shirt, drawing the boy forward. Sand exploded into motion all around him as wood spread from the right palm and sank into the boys flesh tightly.

"_Kill me, and you will die as well, Shukaku. Shodai Hokage's blood flows in my veins; and so too does his Wood Release with it._" blood rained down Danzo's forehead in several small locations where grains had cut into his flesh, and his lower body was slightly worse for wear from similar wounds.

But the greatest of difference was the destruction of the metal binding around his right arm. He had not yet had the chance to fully integrate the maximum ten Sharingan within it, baring only three at present, but Orochimaru _had_ held true to their deal of instilling within him Hashirama's cells just as he had to Yamato so long ago.

It was unfortunate that out of all of the Uchiha murdered the night of the massacre that Itachi had destroyed every one of their eyes in the process. A payback, in all likelihood if not insurance against the very thing Danzo had planned to do later on.

Regardless it left him unable to harvest any more Sharingan until far later, and he was much loath to use any of the too few he currently had except for under dire straits. In his grasp with the pain of wood flowing outward tightly Gaara's eyes faded from the supernatural hatred of the Shukaku to the pale blue, frightened and angry look of a small child.

The sand in the air collapsed to the ground. Keeping his guard up Danzo backed toward the entrance and lightly aimed his blade between the childs eyes. "A wise move, beast." he stated flatly. "Now swear your loyalty to myself. You can not escape from this so easily as you would from water." he added.

Gaara pursed his lips in defiance. "_Now._" Danzo ordered as chest to ankle was wrapped within a tight wooden coffin. "... _I..._" the Shukaku's voice forced it's way passed Gaara's lips. Danzo narrowed his visible eye at him and increased the pressure of the binding. A dark grin again appeared in place on the boy's face.

"_... will..._" it continued just as slowly. "_NOW!_" Danzo roared. "_... __**never**__._" finishing in a low snarl the wall to Danzo's right imploded at arm level. The deafening boom and rush of rock and sand knocked the man sideways and his grip of the extended kunai faltered. The weapon clattered to the ground as thick stone crashed down around the two of them.

* * *

"... You have to be joking." Sasuke stated with as much disdain as he could muster. Kakashi shook his head grimly. "You'll never be free of him now. Guy won't stop until you two are sparring every day of the week and running laps around Kohoha together." the Jounin shuddered sharply at old memories of his youth rising to the surface.

Going silent at that Sasuke considered what it would be like to have someone his age and possibly skilled, unlike the other academy students he had to deal with before, to train against. _I might just be able to grow stronger._ he thought. _Even still... eternal rival? That's more like something that orange idiot would have come up with!_

With a sigh Kakashi looked at him. "Try not to think about it. It should be months before you have to even consider seeing either of them again on a regular basis." he told the last Uchiha. _But one Guy realizes what kind of training I have in store for you, that previous assumption is going to come true._

* * *

The rock before them imploded inward in several places with a terrible grating. "_!_" Several of the villagers around them rushed forward at speed belying their simplistic clothing. Yamato stared and gave a start as he recognized the features of one of them from their time in Root.

A moment later and he thrust Naruto back into the valley they had emerged from and threw a hastily summoned sheet of wood after the boy before concentrating as he threw himself into the mix.

"Ow!" rubbing the back of his head from where it had hit the wall Naruto snatched up the sheet and read quickly. 'ROOT! Danzo!' the small block of wood said. 'STAY!' was underlined severely beneath that. _Aw, hell._ he thought. Closing his eyes to concentrate Naruto gathered as much natural energy as he could. _This isn't going to end well._

* * *

Pillars of wood exploded from the ground around the cavern as two different Root members engaged the traitor Yamato in combat, while the rest shot forward to assist their leader against the out of control jinchuriki.

Yamato destroyed several of the incoming shuriken with precisely aimed narrow staffs of wood and raised his left arm and the thickly knotted shield he had formed there to halt another two kunai from killing him.

Flame descended on him and Yamato braced himself before forging through it shield-first, his fingers never ceasing their motions as a blockade formed several feet ahead and blocked them from advancing any further into the cavern- as well as keeping anyone on the other side from slipping past him.

In a moment of distraction as sweat dripped off his hair and into his face one of them managed to slam an exploding-note kunai to his vest. _!_ tearing his face away from that position he was knocked off his feet by the power of the move and left dazed on the ground.

The same flame attack from before descended on his body and engulfed it just before two wet splats filtered through the air and a loud bang followed. Panting from the Kawarimi no Jutsu or Body Replacement Technique performed at the last second, followed by calling up and slamming two slabs of thick wood against the Root members trying to kill him, Yamato wiped his brow and leaned against his blockade for a few moments to rest.

* * *

Screams filled the air as sand swirled and formed more than just shapeless blobs, becoming assorted weaponry and striking at any exposed vital point on the weaklings flooding into the area around them.

Gaara had no choice in the matter. His deal with the Shukaku left the One-tailed Beast in control. It's gathering mass had filtered through the wood and cracked it wide open in order to free his body. Now he was dancing back and forth with Sand Body Flicker to avoid Danzo's Wind Release attacks and striking back as oft as naught.

"_Not nearly as powerful within my domain, are you maggot?_" Shukaku's voice growled at him. Danzo grunted and put a fair distance between them as he performed a different set of hand-seals entirely. It sickened him to have to call forth his summons but there was simply too much available sand for his enemy to work with here.

Utilizing the blood already flowing around his form he called it forth and stepped back even further. The large Baku appeared and loomed over the jinchuriki before it. "_!_" startled by the appearance of the creature the Shukaku hesitated a fraction of a moment.

The Baku trumpeted at him and thrust open it's jaws to begin sucking up every trace of sand in the area. "_You think you can stop the One-tailed Beast so easily? Foolish chimera, your-_" exactly what it was going to say was cut off with a wide-eyed look at a sudden realization.

The tornado-like effect swirling around the Baku's throat and stomach-lining kept the gathered sand trapped in place. In moments there was none of it left around them within the cavern save that wrapped about Gaara's body and even that was torn free before the Shukaku could try and stop it.

Grasping the stone table emerging from the wall and floor to avoid being drawn into it's mouth as well it snarled at him. Danzo slowly stepped around it's side while keeping away from the suction-point. "... We remain at stalemate. No weapon I devise can slip free of the Baku's mouth. No sand of yours can be gathered while it breaths. Oh... there is this." pausing in thought for a moment Danzo turned to his summons and ordered it forward.

Once again he was taken by surprise as the wood filling in the entrance created by the Shukaku earlier dissolved and a small sphere of energy flew from it directly into the Baku's line of suction.

_That can't be..._ recognizing the orb and the chaotic swirl of energy within he shouted too late to do anything about it. The Rasengan exploded within the Baku's stomach and tore it apart, spraying the area with sand. Gaara's body turned toward the unexpected opening as a yellow haired, yellow-eyed orange suited boy stepped through with pupils nearly as distracting as the Shukaku's own.

"You don't have to keep fighting by yourself anymore, Gaara. I can help you. What do you want?" the strange boy called over to him without taking his eyes from the stilled Danzo. The Shukaku laughed at his arrogance. "_I'll just kill you both._" it stated as the sands swirled to life again.

**End Chapter Nine.**


	10. Chapter 10: Jinchuriki's collide again

A/N: Thank you Bobboky, Cueil, xfighter4, Adventure Writer 28, Tristan76, Astronomical Apparatus11, nat19th, thechickenlittle and Lolchen. As well as to those of you who've added this story to your alert and favorites listing. To answer some questions:

You raise some very good points Tristan76, very good. I'll start with some of them about chapter 4(based off memory, never a good thing): Sarutobi is unable to truly confirm that Danzo would go to Suna based off of a simple threat to Naruto and sending out a false alert to the Kazekage could cause instabilities between their already wary alliance.

He would have believed no one would be stupid enough to actually declare their intentions to a known threat and enemy; unfortunately for him Danzo did so and planned to follow up on it.

It _is_ a possibility he could have sent a lone shinobi or message bird out with a general warning to the Kazekage regardless, however even if he succeeded in that the Root members already in place would have terminated anyone or anything they recognized coming from Konoha.

Toward stolen Uchiha and First Hokage materials: As I remember, Naruto didn't witness any of that or learn of it in the aftermath. He only arrived after Sasuke had barely edged out a victory and then wound up getting poisoned trying to stop the other teen.

So far as Naruto knows, aside from perhaps _a_ Sharingan the rest of the abilities Danzo demonstrated should have been either his own or learned from somewhere else.

To chapter 9 review: No one in Suna has actually seen Danzo's face or forehead protector yet. His unmasked Root members would have been spotted bringing the jinchuriki somewhere and then in the attack that brought that section of wall down on-top there would be too much sand/rock in the way to clearly see him.

As well most of what you listed isn't yet public knowledge; when or if Danzo get's pinned down and what he's done in the process will certainly spark trouble and damages when it's learned of. Until that point things are still swirling on the edge of chaos; suddenly their village wall is coming undone and shinobi are flying into it from nowhere with the occasional causality in the process.

An actual war unfolding between the two could easily result from precisely what you said though, and Danzo's not worried at all so long as he get's the Shukaku under his control; he's somewhat focused on select goals and not necessarily the results that come about in the process.

nat19th: Hahah, yeah, I suppose it still counts. That is true about Sasuku and Lee, though depending on how things go from here Neji could still be a rival on a less grand scale.

Phew. Onward with the story.

* * *

Naruto stared at Gaara blankly for a moment at the intensity behind the words and took in the sheer malice emanating out of his demented eyes. The other jinchuriki's mouth was upturned in a terrible mockery of a smile as a storm of sand flew to life from where the Baku had exploded.

_Damn. Shukaku's taken root._ slamming his hands together Naruto sent off a trio of clones from around his back, two to handle Danzo and a third to help him out with either his fellow host or the others if that was needed. If this battle was anything like the first time around allowing the Shukaku to drag things out for too long would probably see the rise of the absolute shield of sand the older Gaara had preferred.

Which meant he had to finish this in as few blows as possible without killing the red-haired boy in the process, yet still manage to subdue the bijuu as well. Naruto grimaced as he threw himself into the sand with one hand outstretched, using the senjutsu chakra swirling about his body to capture and push back the hundreds of grains half an inch from his flesh.

Behind him Danzo drew his wind-infused blade with a dark expression marring his features, both eyes taking in the duo of clones facing him. They regarded him with an equally unpleasant glare in a fluid pose able to avoid a blow quickly and efficiently, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Gaara's eye's registered surprise at the way the other child was effortlessly striding forward through the mass of sand tearing at his skin and it took two seconds to feel the way the chakra infused sand was being deflected by a greater chakra field around him. Greater anger illuminated his expression as the majority of the sand was collected and surged down on the yellow haired childs body.

Danzo took that moment to surge forward and exhale a slowly gathered breath, layering the field before him with Vacuum Spheres as he brought the wind-blade to bear. Instead of dodging the clones before him simply withstood the barrage using the aura of senjutsu chakra to deflect the wind chakra points away and gathered energy within the narrow space between their left and right hands, respectively.

The third clone shunshined around them all to flank Danzo's open back, using the distraction of sand and the weak Rasengan being generated by the other two to hold their foe's attention. Danzo himself slowed at the recognition of what move the two clones in front of him were using and scowled even deeper.

The real Naruto was engulfed in a sphere of the gathered sand behind the clones as the Shukaku focused and squeezed one hand tightly. A low moan of pain escaped within it before the compressing sphere halted and shuddered, struggling to crush the boy within. It expanded slightly and compressed again in equal timing before bulging outward awkwardly and starting to grow.

Confusion and frustration grew over Gaara's face as his fingers squeezed so tightly his nails cut into the palm of his hand and left bloody marks behind, but the sand only shuddered before exploding outward with another four-some of shouts from within.

Danzo slashed downward at the two in his way as they brought their hands upward and thrust the weakened Rasengan forward. His blade cut through it far more easily than should have been possible and he found out a moment later why when a kunai exploded through his left lung. He noted that the sage-marks around their eyes had vanished while he was eyeballing the Rasengan, and it came to him at that point how he had been played.

The third clone kicked his legs out from under him and blinked in surprise when his foe's body vanished in mid-motion and reformed like myst a couple of feet back, unharmed from the kunai but still battered from his earlier blows. "To think, you would push me this far.. it agonizes my very soul to waste this power and potential against mere _clones_!" he growled.

All three blinked in surprise at this strange development and before they could react Danzo had shunshined forward and decapitated the two sage-less clones in a single motion. He turned his head to look at the remaining clone with fury burning in his eyes as the area was rained in sand again.

Where the sphere had been Naruto and more clones were tightly pressed against one another, a little bloodied but otherwise okay. Gaara snarled at him. "_How? How do you defy my power?_" The four Naruto's turned to face him grimly before shunshining forward.

Two grabbed him by the arms and locked them tightly into place out to the side while the third appeared at his back and wrapped his arms under and around the shoulders. The real Naruto stopped just before the other boy. "If you can hear me in there, Gaara, I wish didn't it have to come to this. It sucks that it's _your_ body that has to take damage to subdue the Shukaku." the blond stated sadly. Before he could go any further his earlier clone yelped and drew Naruto's attention back toward Danzo.

The elder man slashed his wind-blade through it's neck from the position the clone had been forced into by Danzo's fading revivals, leaving him confused and unsure where the man would come forward from next. "_So._" Danzo stated flatly as the body faded to smoke like the other two had, rising to his full height again and facing the others.

* * *

"What's going on here?" a Suna Jounin demanded as he arrived on sight of the collapsing wall. The few actual villagers there approached slowly and explained the details to him of what they had seen over the last twenty minutes.

The wooden barricade blocking the entrance only unsettled the man after they were finished. As he took a look around it and all the blood leaking out from the edges, then toward the swirling sandstorm just outside of the village, an unpleasant thought began to crop up. _Perhaps the boy was pushed too far this time_.

His initial strike against it did little damage, but on the follow up the entire thing came apart and his forward momentum sent him stumbling inward. Before he could do anything more the wood gathered back up and sealed itself as his back before reaching out to restrain him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the Jounin demanded as a wooden-masked man of equal height rose off the floor and approached slowly with a sheet of wood in his hands. Said man held it up for the Jounin to read in the very poor light cast by nearby wooden lamps, as the sounds of fighting echoed faintly through the other end of the darkened area off ahead of them.

'My partner will be finished soon. No questions. We'll be out of Sunagakure with business handled.' the note read. The Jounin read it over and his expression went exceptionally grim, but he remained silent as he considered what that meant. His eyes scanned over the other ninja slowly and noted the common-place outfit beneath the cloak, but the mask and apparent wood release possessed unsettled him more than anything else.

_Could be a Hunter-nin from one of the other villages... something I doubt, but so far the rumors around them are proving true here. Having a lost Kekkei Genkai, the mask... Wood release techniques supposedly died out with Hashirama Senju of Konohagakure, just as the Ice and Storm techniques vanished long ago._

Before his thoughts could go any further something shuddered and imploded farther ahead as a loud rumble shook the area.

* * *

Naruto grimaced as he looked back on Danzo. "Look's like I'll have to deal with you personally." glancing toward the two clones for an instant he spoke to them. "You know what to do." they nodded reluctantly and placed their spare hands one over the other to gather a true Rasengan between them as Naruto shot off toward Danzo.

Gaara snarled at them and the sand on the ground rushed back to life, gathering toward all of their bodies as it swirled through the air. Before it could finish forming a 160 degree half sphere around them and compress inward to kill the clones, the Rasengan was formed- a little slower due to them having a lot less chakra than the real Naruto, but the process was done.

The large ball of chakra was slammed into Gaara's chest and exploded with enough force to dissipate the clones and decimate the wall all around four inches deep. Gaara's body rocked back against it sharply in a shower of blood before collapsing to the ground, terrible eyes wide and mouth left open in a silent scream of rage and agony.

The sand in the air stiffened before dropping back to the ground lifeless again. At the same time Naruto could feel his energy reserves dropping with fatigue as he faced off against Danzo, and he was growing weary of using clones in this battle. It was time to use something a little different and maximize his remaining energy.

Danzo slashed at his head as Naruto shunshined forward, catching the other as he appeared and finally piercing through the aura of senjutsu chakra around the boy. Naruto winched as he saw the motion coming too slowly to stop his forward momentum and twisted to the side as he appeared, earning a slash mark running from his left eyebrow and across his nose to the right shoulder instead of the intended skull-piercing blow.

Continuing through his twist he pressed his left hand to his right fist and slammed his right elbow up into Danzo's ribcage, using his speed and pushing with the other arm to add more weight and power. A sickening crack echoed through the area as Danzo sprayed blood across the blond and doubled over in pain, but before anything further could be done his body faded as if made of myst and reformed the same a short distance away.

It was the first time Naruto could note actually seeing it in action and he stared in disbelief at the other man. Danzo growled as he felt the used Uchiha eye beginning to fail and falter. Shunshining over to where Gaara still lay on the ground the man scooped up the child by the back of the neck.  
"You haven't stayed my hand yet, boy. If you think I'll leave this place empty handed, you are dearly mistaken!"

Naruto felt his anger rising as Gaara was used as a shield. Before he could act Danzo had drawn in a swift breath and exhaled sharply in several directions, breathing out several long blades of wind with his Vacuum Serial Waves. Most of them were angled at Naruto to keep him back, and repeating the motion this time Danzo aimed for the section of wall already partially collapsed by the Shukaku earlier. The holes shining fragments of light inward were exploded out and left a wide hole to easily escape through.

"No!" pushing his way through the attack as best he could Naruto could only watch as Danzo shunshined away with Gaara in his grip. _Like hell I'm letting him get away like this! _he thought, and focused on the section of hatred dwelling within his core. _Kyuubi! Wake up and loan me some chakra already!_

* * *

Yamato turned toward the sound as the barricade behind him shuddered in it's hold, but didn't collapse. He approached at length and let it down as a terrible howl emanated out from the other side and nearly blew him onto his back from the sound-waves that followed in it's wake.

At the other end of the hall the Suna Jounin shouted at him, "What in the hell is going on with your so called partner!" the sound sent a reluctant shiver down his spine, as instinct warned him to back away from whatever creature could make a sound as that. Yamato could only watch as an orange blur rushed out of a newly created hole where the wall around the village was thinner and more easily broken.

* * *

Outside the villagers watched as two blurs, separated by a ten second interval, emerged from a large hole and soared off toward the raging sandstorm outside. The first was very faint, but the latter was orange tinted and more strongly visible, and what happened next was poorly described but well remembered by the villagers of Sunagakure for a long time thereafter.

Just within the path leading into and out of Suna a terrible howl rang out time and again, and the two blurs clashed against one another with a violence and speed enough to shake the rock about them with a growing intensity.

Blood ran in trails around and soaked into the walls, until at last a blindingly bright white object crashed into the middle of the two blurs and exploded so strongly the entrance was collapsed.

* * *

With three tails whipping back and forth at his back, Naruto howled his rage and anger fueled by the Kyuubi and rushed out into the open. He never paused as his nose sniffed at the air for the familiar scents and locked onto the trail. He kicked off harder from the sands and caught sight of Danzo rushing toward the exit and back into the sandstorm engulfing the outside lands.

_Like you're going to get away from me so easily!_ he snarled in his thoughts, catching up to the other ninja at last and raking his claws over his back. Danzo grimaced and shouted as his blood was scattered, and his own rage grew at what he must do next as his body melted into myst again.

As it reappeared Naruto turned and descended on the man, slashing again and this time for a leg. Gaara was dropped the first time Danzo had to reform, and each time he went for the boy the jinchuriki tore away at Danzo's form, and time and again Danzo recovered like it was nothing- but without his prize in hand, either. But soon an additional scent in the air, alien and familiar all the same to Naruto through the Kyuubi assaulted his nostrils.

It came from the arm Danzo had once wrapped. Naruto tore it off at the elbow and watched as the man flinched before a barely audible note of relief cleared his throat followed by more Vacuum Serial Waves. The damage being done to Naruto was healed as quickly as it came thanks to the fox's chakra, but he needed something that would truly put the enemy down.

After another howl to throw Danzo into a wall, Naruto gathered into his hands the effort and energy for his Rasengan and focused harder than he could remember doing in a long time, using the fox's will to push him through as needed. Slowly four white points burned and swirled to life about the little sphere and together they grew.

Danzo recovered and slammed his blade of chakra through Naruto's chest in the moment of distraction and watched as surprise and dismay cut across the blonds face just as the Rasenshuriken finished and Naruto slammed one hand around Danzo's in a death grip.

Together Naruto's weapon exploded against their forms and sent the walls rushing down atop them.

**End Chapter Ten.**


	11. Chapter 11: A childs resolve

A/N: Thank you for all the great reviews, favoriting, and subscriptions!

Imperial Dragon/DanielHimura: Most of the damage was one-sided from Naruto to Danzo. My reasoning for Danzo not dying every other blow was that Naruto can't have given him more damage than Sasuke's Susanoo was able to in canon, and the man was still able to Izanagi his way out of _that_. But he's certainly used up the majority of his lifelines by now.

Batamut: The massacre was within six or so months of the start of the story, and as confirmed around chapter 4 or 5 some things take place a little differently since Naruto is no longer in his home universe. Danzo collected his Sharingan prior to the massacre painstakingly, as I believe I left a note by the man that Itachi had ruined all the eyes of the Uchiha he slew.

On with the chapter :)

* * *

Panting and gasping from the burn in his chest where Danzo's blade had pierced him just beside the heart, Naruto tensed at the final moment before his Rasenshuriken exploded against the older man so strongly that as their bodies were repelled from one another and slammed into the harsh walls, the stone work shattered and collapsed down upon the passageway.

Just before he was engulfed Naruto stole a glimpse in Gaara's direction and the flight of the stones above. _He'll be safe.._ was as far as he could think before the first slab of stone bore down onto his shoulders and shoved him face first toward the sands. Several more piled up atop it and crushed his body down farther, suffocating him and breaking bones in a dozen places even through the aura still in place.

Even the fox's chakra couldn't hold that much weight off his body, not at so few tails; thankfully it didn't have to.

* * *

Despair sank into Yamato's heart as he looked out from beneath his mask at the destruction to the entrance into Sunagakure. He had arrived in time to catch whatever the ninjutsu was that Naruto had utilized, but he could do nothing to stop the stone walls from coming apart. That's not to say he couldn't prevent them from smearing his assigned apprentice into a fine paste, however.

Slamming his hands together and murmuring as quickly beneath his breath as he could, the former root members fingers danced through the required seals rapidly and efficiently as he called up woodwork from beneath the sands around Naruto's body.

Even at that pace it was still too slow to prevent several large pieces of stonework from falling down around and on to the boys body, but before it could grind him apart the first pieces of wood jutted up and caught the rock all around him, slowly lifting as a complex wooden structure rose up an inch at a time.

Sweat dripped down from Yamato's forehead and hair down his face and occasionally gathered at the corners of his eyes, stinging them sharply and itching to blink. His features were set into a rough grimace as he felt the strain from pushing against the weight, determined not to succumb. _Naruto... move.. !_ he silently ordered.

A few moments later and one of the tails of chakra twitched violently before fading away, and then the others followed it up. The broken bones across his small body were mended and Naruto's left hand steadied under his body and slowly pushed up, coughing as he spat sand from his mouth before the boy's head turned to see how he was still free enough to move.

"_!_" Looking at the rising slabs of wood around his body Naruto realized how unstable the rocks above them still were. Sluggishly he crawled forward and out from beneath the wood and rock mass and collapsed again, body still aching all along his back and shoulders where the majority of the pressure and damage had been.

His eyes again roamed over to where Gaara's body lay, and it was with a sigh of tired happiness that he noted nothing had happened to the other boy. _He's okay... the stupid one tails didn't succeed after-all... and neither did that bastard Danzo..._ he thought slowly. Before he could say or think anything further the rocks in front of him exploded upward and a bloodied and broken hand pushed up from beneath.

It was followed by the rest of the arm before heavy roots pushed the rest of the boulders atop the body aside and Danzo Shimura emerged from beneath it with a cage of interlocked wood around his body. Much like Yamato had done, Danzo too had utilized the power of Wood Release to prevent his form from being crushed to death. Unlike with Naruto however, who had been saved within moments, it had taken long seconds for Danzo to recover and save himself from deaths rough embrace.

One lung had collapsed from a pair of ribs shattering and cutting through it, his left arm was severed at the elbow, and the first couple of layers of flesh along his back had been stripped free from the angled rock slashing down upon it. The ground was soaked crimson with his blood, but his eye burned with an inferno of hatred for the jinchuriki before him. "_You..._" he turned to one side and spat out a mouthful of blood and a few broken teeth, his right fingers twitching as though attempting to close into a fist despite the damage.

Naruto stared in surprise and dismay up at the man, unable to accept what his eyes were telling him. After another moment however Danzo turned and took an unsteady step to the side, then another until he was standing beside the apparently unconscious Gaara. "_I will have your power yet, boy... be it now or ten years from now._" he swore softly, unwilling to sacrifice his final Uchiha eye to heal his body. Opportunities would exist in the years yet to come. He would wait, and he would recover, and eventually he would succeed.

A few seconds later and Danzo collapsed to the ground as two more of Suna's Jonin arrived on the scene. A trio of shuriken stuck out of the back of Danzo's spine in three different places, paralyzing the man. "Whoever the hell you are, you won't be doing anything regarding the demon boy. _Any of you freaks._" the man who spoke directed his gaze down onto Naruto as well as back over one shoulder to where Yamato was still keeping the passageway from being collapsed again.

* * *

An hour and a half later and an unpleasant meeting was currently underway in the Kazekage's office. Yamato, still in mask, Gaara, now awake, Danzo, severely restrained, and Naruto, in his clothed Oiroke no Jutsu again were gathered in around the man's desk. Various ANBU surrounded them all.

"... Somehow I doubt your claims." the Kazekage spoke loudly, his frustrations apparent as he paced back and forth. "And even if they were true, you disabled up to four gate guardians, destroyed the structure of our passageway in and out of this village, and put the remainder of the wall protecting our village in vital danger of collapse." he continued.

So far they had been able to claim they were hunter nin tracking down a dangerous criminal from Konoha, hence their efforts and what had come of it. Naruto spoke whenever Yamato wasn't able to create a sheet of wood to explain something, and he was attempting to convince them that this was his natural form- and part of their methodology in tracking down said criminal.

"Since you say you're from Kohoha it seems fitting to charge the Hokage with espionage and attempted destruction of Sunagakure, via this 'criminal' you_ failed to apprehend_ in time." the Kazekage stated in a tone of forced restraint. Naruto began to protest but was cut off quickly. "Do you think I don't recognize the man before me? I _know_ Danzo Shimura, child! His efforts in ending our search for my predecessor are still well remembered!" he snapped before grimacing, as though realizing he had said something not meant to get out.

Naruto turned a curious glance toward Danzo before looking back to the Kazekage. "Enough of this nonsense! Danzo Shimura is to be executed tomorrow at dawn, and the two of you are going to be held in prison until Konoha's Hokage answers the summons to stand trial for the aforementioned charges! Whether or not he'll be joining you will be decided at that time! Anbu!" rising to his full height the Kazekage waited for his orders to be carried out.

_Well shit. Look's like I'm gonna have to do something very unpleasant._ Naruto thought with a grimace, fingers twitching as he glanced around at the various ninja closing in on them. It came as a surprise when a soft voice spoke up for the first time since the meeting began.

"Father..." Gaara said. The Kazekage glanced down at his youngest son with a look of disdain. Looking about himself at Naruto, Yamato, and the various elder shinobi, Gaara slid off his seat and returned the disdainful glance. A small flicker of annoyance followed by anger crossed the older mans face at the look.

"_What?_"he barked. Outside sand began to swirl to life and trickle in through the windows, gathering discreetly along the walls. Yamato and Naruto were held already and limp without resisting, waiting on what the small jinchuriki was about to say.

"Let them go." Gaara responded in the same soft tone. The Kazekage scowled sharply and slammed his hands down on the desk, leaning over to glare at his child.

"And who are you to make such a demand?" he questioned. Gaara did not flinch as he usually did from the tactic, though his eyes _did_ darken slightly, and when he responded his voice held a slightly higher weave to it. His hands clenched tightly and the sand along the walls answered, soaring through the air to wrap about the Anbu's heads tightly.

"It wasn't a demand. A request. For a friend." turning toward Naruto as the Anbu struggled to breath through the traps around their heads, he looked up into the others blue eyes and saw only recognition and, to a degree, silent approval. Not fear, hate, panic, or loathing as he was used to. The Kazekage grunted as he leaned back from the jinchuriki and examined the state of his shinobi.

Then Gaara turned toward Danzo and his expression hardened, the darkness to his eyes growing as he unconsciously dug his fingernails into his palms again. The Anbu collapsed to the ground amid choking sounds. "_Kill him,_" the boy almost snarled, looking into the one good eye the man had, "_but spare the others._"

Never before had the Kazekage heard such malice to his sons tone. Some part in the back of his mind was actually happy. The other parts bristled with anger, mild concern, and dismay. "Will you finally start training like your brother and sister?" he demanded in a low tone. Gaara did not turn his vision away from Danzo as the sand began sliding from the Anbu and working toward the former Root leader, his control starting to slip.

Naruto placed one hand to the boy's shoulder and clenched down slightly, enough to get his attention, and Gaara answered his father in a slightly less malicious tone. "Yes, father." he said. The Kazekage grimaced. He pointed one finger sharply at Naruto.

"Take your friend and begone from my village. If you ever set foot within Suna's boundaries again you'll be killed on sight." he told them in the same low tone. His eyes betrayed his true emotions as he looked at them, and Yamato merely nodded his head before turning and marching out of the office.

Naruto hesitated a moment more and patted Gaara on the shoulder. "I'll see you in several years then, Gaara. Well done." stepping quickly after Yamato he paused again as the Kazekage continued as if it only just came to him.

"And tell the Hokage this isn't over. I'll be expecting compensation for the damages to Suna before the month is out."

* * *

Within Konoha almost a full month passed following Naruto and Yamato's departure. Sasuke continued his practice with chakra exercises and chakra injections every several hours, and though it still burned monstrously whenever he even so much as tried to move a toe, the doctors opinion was optimistic.

"You are making a steady recovery, Sasuke. The extra chakra you aren't losing with your exercises is flowing exactly as it needs to and seems to be aiding the process by a fraction. You might be capable of walking again, with aide of course, within three months more or less. Running before a year has passed!" he said with a smile.

Sasuke just stared as he was want to do whenever the doctor tried to cheer him up. The doctors smile became a little staler as he turned away, fading before he was out the door to visit the next patient. Rock Lee slipped in a few moments later with a flustered expression.

He bowed once, sharply, in greeting toward his injured Eternal Rival before pulling up a seat and dropping the backpack he wore to the ground. It made a solid thunk as the forty pounds of weight fell from a two foot height. Sasuke scowled. He hated the way the other boy was able to so freely walk around and train, while _he_, one of the last of the noble Uchiha lineage, was bed bound.

His nightly exercises _were_ paying off, true, which is why the doctor was seeing a slight improvement. But it was already passed the deadline he had set for himself- sure, he had maybe a day or two left, but how in the hell was he supposed to get up and walk in that time frame? He was barely able to wrap one leg in enough chakra threads to lift it a few inches before the pain grew too much to handle and he had to lower it, wait a while, and try again, slowly exercising the brutally damaged limb.

He suspected Kakashi was secretly watching him whenever the man appeared to be asleep. Apparently Hyuga Ko's words had stung his sensei's pride. Sasuke was drawn out of his thoughts as Lee offered him a rice-ball from the small lunchbox dug out of the backpack. Warily the Uchiha took it from him, using a few threads to make sure it wouldn't slip free, and absently sliced it into quarters with a rough jerk of his fingers once held over the other hand.

Lee watched in fascination. His complete lack of ability with such a skill likewise drew his envy of the other boy, but he continued to come day after day as the middle point of his training and watch.

Both of them gave a start as an orange and tan colored, blond haired blur skidded into the room amid cries of outrage from further down the hall. Panting, Naruto leaned his hands on his knees and looked his young future-team-member over. "What are _you_ doing here?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

Naruto grimaced as he looked over to where Lee was likewise eyeballing here, though with curiosity. _Dammit. How do I explain this without giving too much away?_ he thought. A pair of guards finally caught up to where the jinchuriki had left them in his dust and rubbed their hands together in frustrated vengeance.

Four shadow clones disabled them proper a few moments later as Naruto approached the foot of the bed. "I'm here to help speed up your recovery progress." he stated as the other two stared at his accomplishment with mingled disbelief and awe.

* * *

A ways off, Yamato was still conveying their situation with Suna to the Hokage. The old man rubbed his eyes wearily. Naruto had shot off the moment he learned of Sasuke's situation, leaving the former Root member to explain their month long absence and the reasons behind it. He was only now catching up to the end of the Kazekage's meeting.

"Did you at least get a tally for how much the Kazekage wanted in recompense?" Sarutobi questioned. Yamato shrugged slowly and shook his head no. "I doubt he will request an amount we can easy repay." Sarutobi stated flatly.

A third voice decided to pipe up from just outside the office. "Then why don't you tell him to go blow himself? The man's brat was saved from a fate worse than death at Shimura's hands, _and_ they get to keep their little bijuu. I don't see what he's got to bitch about!" the old man's eyes widened as he looked toward the doorway and a well familiar, white haired man with slouched shoulders glanced over toward him. "Nice to see you again, Hokage-sama." he added as if an afterthought.

**End Chapter Eleven.**


	12. Chapter 12: Senjutsu and Sharingan users

A/N: I'm still grinning like a maniac every time I look at the stats page for this story. Once more, thank you all very much for your contributions, even those who merely browse through.

Special thanks to Yumetaka Kourui, Crystalzap, Imperial Dragon, Bobboky, and Friglit ! I really appreciated your views on the story!

* * *

Sarutobi simply stared as one of the three Sannin and his former personal students glanced over towards him for a moment before looking away and toward the rest of the office quickly, apparently embarrassed for some reason. Yamato grimaced at the older mans tone and words, still unable to accept his attitude toward things even after their time spent together so far.

Slowly blinking and closing his mouth, the Hokage gathered his thoughts together and voiced them. "Jiraiya-san... what are you doing here in Konoha again?" he questioned. The Toad Sage shrugged.

"Can't a man come back to his home village once in awhile?" Jiraiya asked in turn. Sarutobi blinked before carefully masking his features, not quite sure what to make of the others words but suspecting Naruto had a hand in this somewhere. He was quite sure Jiraiya hadn't returned to Konoha for many years to come in the original timeline from what the other had told him a month ago.

"Hn." the Hokage agreed quietly. "Yes, well. I was surprised to see you, I suppose... do you have anything more to contribute toward our response to Suna?" he asked.

"Not in particular." Jiraiya stated. The Hokage nodded once before he turned back toward Yamato and gestured with one hand for him to continue. Summoning up a long tablet of wood the former Root member handed it over.

'After we left Suna, Naruto suggested we make a short side-trip. I wasn't sure of his intentions after what had just occurred previously, but he swore he knew exactly where he was going and that we would be back in Konoha before the week was out. Somehow I doubted this, but he had known his own way to Suna and even made a couple of adjustments toward my own intended path there earlier.'

'As I later learned, we were searching for the Sannin member behind me. We would have been here sooner if we had found him in the first sake bar, or even the first town. Unfortunately it wasn't until long after that and many days spent drinking in the process of trying to draw out information from various locals, that we stumbled onto him.'

* * *

Sasuke was the first to return to his normal tone of voice and such, quickly shaking the surprise away from his face, and he asked in a low tone that nevertheless carried his dismay "And how do you expect to do that? I've got two different jonin's giving me regular supplies of chakra, and I'm still no further along then this after a month."

He had expected the other boy to shout out some ridiculous statement as he was want to do, but instead Naruto frowned and glanced around quickly. "What type?" he asked. Sasuke blinked.

"Huh? What do you mean what type?" he questioned. To both of their surprises it was Rock Lee who contributed the answer in a slightly rushed tone.

"I think.. he means what element? Some people work better with certain elements than others, Guy-sama told me." the unexpected answer left the Uchiha staring at his eternal rival with surprise etched onto his features for the second time in as many minutes.

"Well said, Lee-san." Naruto told him with a firm nod before turning back to his future team mate. "I'm pretty sure they'd have checked your compatibility with it, but... the villagers can be jerks a lot of the time without giving it much thought; they might be sabotaging your coils without even knowing it, simply because no one else ever told them that it mattered what element you were getting." he stated.

Sasuke's eyes widened at that thought, and he might have dismissed it if not for the fact that apparently Lee knew about this too. Instead he grimaced and looked down at his stomach where the needles were always inserted, and he tried to feel if anything was different with his body from usual for it.

"You're probably a fire affinity, right?" Naruto asked even though he knew the answer. Sasuke nodded slowly, assuming he would be like the rest of his family usually was. Naruto closed his eyes in concentration for several seconds with his hands resting on the end of the bed to help him remain still enough.

"What are you doing?" Lee wondered, but gasped when orange marks appeared around the blonds eyes. When Naruto opened them they had changed to a sharp gold with the pupils oddly turned to the side into horizontal slits.

Sasuke looked up and saw what had startled his eternal rival and felt a sense of unease enter his stomach, which only increased as Naruto stepped around the side of the bed and raised one hand toward him. "What are you doing?" the Uchiha repeated Lee's question with more tension in his voice.

Blue energy gathered around the inside of Naruto's palm. "I'm about to speed up your recovery by roughly ten times." and, before any of them could state anything more, Naruto pressed his hand to Sasuke's chakra center and _pushed_ his Senjutsu energy into it.

The Uchiha heir arched off the bed as the alien chakra roared through his system. It pushed into the most damaged areas quickly, and where as before he had damaged them from forcing too much through for too long, the balanced nature of Senjutsu chakra soothed instead of inflamed.

But unlike the injections, where the alien chakra was slowly bled in and mixed together with his own to keep it from rejecting, this new and different chakra was over riding his own and in effect, absorbing it instead of the other way around.

At first there was sharp and constant pain as the overloaded areas of his legs were flooded again for the first time in nearly a month, but then a cool feeling began to spread. He could feel his muscles tightening and relaxing again, spasming as they grew used to having energy flow through them properly again.

When Naruto carefully drew his hand away after nearly a minutes time he let out a weary sigh. _My own wind affinity should balance out between his fire and lightning nature chakra shortly, if what Yamato and Kakashi told me some time ago is still true. I mean, sure, it's going to beat on one of them but it only helps out the other, and it should help his own growth respond to that._ he thought.

Sasuke leaned back against his mattress panting as the final cycles began to slow down. He could _feel his legs_. They were somewhat cold, but he could _feel them_ again. A toe twitched on it's own and instead of sending agony rolling through his body, he just felt a slight numbness toward it.

Reaching down with one hand he gripped his left knee and slowly squeezed. He could feel the muscles underneath the flesh and the bone around them responding normally, even though it was again somewhat blunted.

Sasuke pushed up and stared down in disbelief when his legs slowly obeyed the command to move to the side. Naruto smirked at his success and gave the shocked Uchiha and his eternal rival a thumbs up. "You should be just fine later on, once the numbness fades and your own chakra begins forming again naturally." he stated matter-of-factly.

"How did you do that? How did you even know it would work?" Lee questioned him quietly but fiercely when Sasuke gave little sign he had even heard Naruto. The tone caught the jinchuriki's attention and he frowned a bit.

"I used to know... a medic-nin." he began and then frowned deeper as he remembered Sakura, and realized he didn't have any plans to deal with her just yet.

"She told me her master had explained some of the finer details once and why people didn't die when they had chakra shoved into them on the battlefield, to close up wounds and stuff y'know? I figured I could duplicate the effect with the right type of chakra, since his damage was all internal and already being prodded with a metaphorical stick." he explained.

Lee grimaced. "And if you had failed?" he asked.

"I would have felt that since the chakra I used was special. She told me that when a body's that badly mangled in battle the coils and stuff are already going to be damaged, but pushing healing chakra into it is still substituting your own for someone elses lack of it, so shouldn't the system reject it?" he asked the other boy.

Lee remained silent, so Naruto carried on. "Surprisingly enough, no. A healthy person might if they have enough to counteract with, but a sick or injured body will just absorb it in with their own and slowly break it down in the most damaged areas. Eventually the alien chakra is turned into the owners, even if it is far larger than what that person normally has." he stated.

"But what about your question over the type earlier? Guy-sama told me chakra affinities can damage you if you aren't compatible with them! You agreed!" Lee protested. Naruto nodded his head again.

"You're mostly right. That's why it's important to know what the victims type is before you try anything, because if I had an affinity that was weaker than his _and_ a smaller amount of chakra to push in it would have just been fought off. But someone on the battlefield is already almost out of chakra, so it doesn't matter if their natural affinity is stronger or not since it would not be able to fight off the larger amount of weaker chakra." he explained.

Shaking his head in confusion, Lee slid off the chair and hefted his backpack into the air again and onto his shoulders. "I need to talk to Guy-sama again..." he trailed off, trying to wrap his mind around the whole process. Naruto stepped out of his way and the other boy began a slow jog toward the doorway as he got used to the weight again and tried to find his rhythm.

* * *

With the meeting concluded the Hokage was left to digest the news he had been given, while Yamato went off to track down his subject. Jiraiya stayed behind for a few moments as if considering saying something, but at last he too turned and headed for the exit.

The Sannin member certainly had things to accomplish, if what Minato's kid had told him was true. _Wherever you are, fourth, I hope you know what a screwed up family you gave your son._ he thought in a semi-prayer, a wry if slightly sad smile on his face as he remembered the conversation that had unfolded earlier in the month.

_Me as the godfather, Sarutobi as acting grandfather, Kushina as his mother, and of course you for his dad._ _It's no wonder he's turned out this way._ Glancing up as his feet carried him toward a sector of Konoha where the house he needed to find was located a few blocks up, Jiraiya focused and pushed aside those thoughts.

He shunshined up to the rooftops and began silently leaping forward until, at last, he had the location in sight. He slowed down and carefully scouted out the walls for anything obviously rigged, which ruled out any of the nearby bushes or trees. _Aha._ he thought in triumph as he threw himself toward a corner and clung to it where his hands hit.

Silently and quickly he pulled himself along the wall to the back of the building and up to a window that was partially cracked. With his feet planted firmly in place and one hand holding on as well, he dipped one hand into a pocket and drew the two objects within out.

Flicking the top off his pen, he began appreciating the view afforded down into the woman's side of the Konoha Hot springs with a sly grin on his face, jotting down notes happily all the while.

* * *

Yamato found Naruto sitting down in the Uchiha's room of the hospital. He was surprised to see them talking quietly with four unconscious chunin guards on the floor mere feet away, and the raven headed boys feet swinging back and forth slowly.

Tapping Naruto on the shoulder to get his attention, Yamato scowled down at the jinchuriki with his arms crossed. "Ah, hi Yamato-taicho." he greeted without a trace of concern. Yamato crouched and stared at him with wide eyes and a stark expression. "Urk! Sorry!" Naruto exclaimed as he pulled away from the disturbing look of his mentor.

Sasuke blinked and leaned back a few inches from it as well. Yamato slowly relaxed his features and gestured out the door. Naruto nodded his head quickly. "I'll see you around, Sasuke." he told the other boy as he dropped to his feet and began walking toward the exit.

* * *

A short time later and they were standing inside of Naruto's apartment, the jinchuriki sitting on the couch as Yamato collapsed into bed. _This has been far too long in coming. I don't care if the Hokage himself showed up and knocked on the door, I'm not moving from this bed until I've had a proper nights rest._ he thought tiredly.

Losing his voice had been difficult to cope with. He still wasn't used to it, and at times all he wanted to do was shout out his frustration. His wood nature abilities and his chakra had certainly grown since being paired up with Naruto three and a half weeks earlier. After-all, have you ever tried to hold a conversation in which one party has to carve out each letter of their response or query at a time, rapidly, multiple times a day if not _hour_?

No, Yamato would have collapsed into exhaustion if he had been assigned this task three years ago. He felt weariness paired with a simple joy of resting again, with a wary sort of concern over what trouble Naruto may have gotten into after dashing off to the hospital when they got back.

In the front room Naruto finally felt his own tiredness beginning to settle into place. He yawned and leaned back into the seat with his legs stretched out on the wooden table Yamato had created for him, thinking about what all he had accomplished in just a month of time in the past. He drifted off with a smile on his face.

* * *

When Kakashi arrived roughly twenty minutes following Naruto and Yamato's departure, he stared in disbelief at what his visible eye was telling him. The Uchiha heir standing on both legs and walking back and forth slowly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

Sasuke jerked to a stop as he looked up at his teacher. "I'm healed." he stated simply. Kakashi tugged his hitai-ate up and brought out his Sharingan to see how this was possible and watched with a slack-jawed expression at the way chakra was somewhat densely compacted into his apprentices legs and lower coils, the pathways themselves still not fully healed but certainly recovering at a remarkable pace.

"_How_?" the Jonin asked. Sasuke shrugged. "Someone came in and injected me with more chakra. It hurt as badly as it did when I first injured them before fading to numbness." he answered carefully.

"_Who_ injected you?" now concern for the boys well being was returning in spades. "A silver haired man in strange red cloths. He looked ugly, but he had strange markings around his nose and eyes that faded when he was done." he repeated what Naruto had asked him to say before Yamato arrived.

_Silver hair and markings? Could it be..._ trailing off Kakashi stopped his Sharingan and but left the hitai-ate out of it's usual place. "I see. You were unwise to accept his help without myself or the Hyuga here, Sasuke, but I am glad to see you've recovered. Nevertheless, so long as you are under my guidance, do not ever accept the aide of an adult who looks so out of place. This time you were lucky to survive." he warned the boy.

Sasuke scowled. _This better be worth the trouble, Uzumaki._ he thought silently. "Okay." he responded aloud. Kakashi pulled up the paperwork for Sasuke in the desk drawer and left his signature along the bottom next to the mark for 'discharged'.

"I've got some meetings to attend today so you're free to wander, but under no circumstances are you to train your chakra while I'm gone." he instructed the Uchiha. Sasuke nodded his acceptance and followed after Kakashi as they departed the hospital.

When they neared the Jonin's home Kakashi said "Oh." and dug into his pockets for another book. "I was going to give you this to pass the time, but now you can read it more freely to keep yourself entertained." he stated. Sasuke accepted the black book and flipped it open to the first few pages, scanning the contents list.

"'String-theory in battle'?" he questioned. Kakashi confirmed it.

"I figured with the chakra threads you can already create, you should start to utilize that with your basic training. Throw a kunai, whip the kunai back around and stab the enemy in the back- or back of the head." the Jonin answered.

"Hn." Sasuke looked back to the book and began thumbing through the early pages.

**End Chapter Twelve.**


	13. Chapter 13: Sasuke's new training begins

A/N: Thank you very much, "guest reviewer", for your review. I still grin everytime I see it, and I appreciate the comments!

Thank you Kisa-Homer, Crystalzap, Bobboky, and Moscow2009(I did translate the message :D), and of course to those who have favorited and added to your alert lists as well!

* * *

A few hours after leaving his charge alone Kakashi returned to his house a little more tired then he would have preferred, all things considered. His report to the Hokage on the last Uchiha's situation had been tasking, not the least of which being the confirmation that the legendary Jiraiya was in the village after-all.

Kakashi did not know much about the man, not really more than that he had been the sensei to his own master, Minato, some years earlier, and that he supposedly could detect the prowess of a shinobi's skills. That _Jiraiya himself_ had taken enough interest to heal the last Uchiha meant a great deal, and it also meant that Kakashi himself should waste as little time as possible bringing the boy up to his fullest potential.

He had been unable to concentrate enough after leaving the Hokage's office to train as he wanted to with the other Jounin, his mind swirling around the possibilities. He would need to risk training the boy no later than after two days of final recovery time, but even still the trials to awaken the Sharingan would have to be held off until he was older.

Thus, after giving up on his own efforts for the day Kakashi departed and arrived just outside his house before realizing he was hesitating. _Why haven't I stepped in yet? I've been here for.. two minutes? Just thinking?_ he questioned himself.

His good eye flickered over toward Guy's some distance off and another idea dwelling in the back of his mind suddenly crawled it's way to the surface, an idea that could be utilized to awaken the Sharingan _and_ unlock another powerful ability within the last Uchiha without as much danger as he might normally face under other circumstances.

_No, no.. surely Sasuke is too young for that! He could kill himself at this age!_ he thought in sudden dismay, shaking his head to get rid the idea, but it still clung to the edges of his conscious thought through out the rest of the night.

Stepping into his spartan abode Kakashi found his apprentice sitting beside the roll-out bed with '_string-theory in battle_' open in his lap to the mid-way point. Idly Sasuke attached a few threads to the kunai before him and flicked it out and away from his body toward the doorway as he had been for some time now.

He was growing somewhat proficient with it, but the sudden arrival of his teacher startled him again and his fingers slipped and released the deadly object ahead. Kakashi blinked once before his left arm shot out and snatched the kunai an inch from embedding itself in his thigh. "Well. _That_ is certainly an effective way to grab your enemies attention, but perhaps you should aim for a less _vital_ area against _me_ next time?" the Jounin spoke with quiet amusement that didn't quite reach his eye, still partially concerned with earlier thoughts.

Sasuke swallowed and nodded his head quickly. Stepping closer Kakashi looked over the page the boy was at and paused. "You've really been reading, having you? I don't quite think you're up to _that_ maneuver just yet, but given the control I've seen from you lately you could probably pull it off in another few months." he stated.

Sasuke again nodded his head. He still didn't trust the older shinobi very much, and he was still too embarrassed at having slipped his control a few moments earlier to accept the soft praise with a vocal confirmation.

"I'll leave you to it, then. Your _true _training will begin in roughly two more days- to allow your body to become used to moving about again after being bed-ridden for so long." Kakashi told him. Sasuke grimaced at the further delay but made no noise of disagreement, so the older man simply patted him on the shoulder and dropped the kunai down beside him before heading for the kitchen to make something for dinner.

* * *

As the night began to fade, Jiraiya yawned and looked out toward the district Yakushi Kabuto's house was located in. His notebook was tucked away in a pocket and well filled with information and the beginnings of his next few Icha Icha chapters, having stayed behind at the Hot springs for as long as he could reasonably get away with it.

Once dusk settled into place he cautiously disguised his form with the Transparent Escape Technique and took up a position just far enough away that any sensing seals shouldn't pick him up, yet still within his range of visibility. So far he had been standing around for eight hours and almost nothing of interest had yet shown up, making the Sannin member begin to doubt the accuracy of his information.

A flicker of motion in the shadows up ahead caught his attention and Jiraiya leaned closer to be sure he had seen it. A pale haired shinobi slipped in and out of the houses of the area on an unclear path, his head hardly turning as he scanned the skyline and ground levels nearby.

_Time to move._ Jiraiya thought as the shinobi began to slow down and finally disappeared between two houses. Shunshining quickly over the landscape he appeared at the same narrow alley between the two homes and watched the shinobi at the end suddenly stiffen, then turn a fraction in his direction.

Being all but invisible even before entering the darkened shadows made it impossible to physically detect his presence, but the strength of his chakra alerted the numerous seals set in place for just such an occasion.

Without hesitating the shinobi brought his hands together and began to sink beneath the surface of the ground at a sharp tilt rather than descending straight down, and it was this motion that prevented Jiraiya's first grab to miss by mere inches.

The small whoosh of sound that accompanied it betrayed Jiraiya's presence however, and beneath him the gray haired shinobi smiled loosely as his fingers finished the hand seals he had never stopped forming.

Snapping both hands sharply across the broad range where the sensor seals declared the unseen foe to be at, the pale blue chakra wrapped around the outside of each hand from the fingertips to mid-wrist narrowed into sharp points and slashed into the body at what he estimated to be the chest.

A cloud of smoke erupted before him and the shinobi's eyes narrowed, realizing he had just slain a shadow clone and wasted precious seconds of escape time in the process for it. His attempt to return to burrowing under the ground were cut short as a wooden geta stomped down on his throat and crushed the windpipe inward nearly to the breaking point, and a strong hand wrapped itself about both wrists a moment later.

"You aren't going anywhere, kid." allowing his body to fully materialize, Jiraiya stared down into the others widening eyes with a sense of cold determination. "We've got a lot to discuss before the sun rises."

* * *

A few days after returning to Konoha and Naruto was itching to get back into things. It _was_ nice to be back in Konoha, but everyone still treated him like a diseased animal wherever he went, and he was starting to miss _his Konoha_ from before the sudden accident thrust him back in time.

Most of the kids he became friends with later in life kind of avoided him right now, even when he tried to be friendly with them, and it was definitely painful considering how well he knew them down the road. Nevertheless, ever the schemer, he put his mind to good use in figuring out how to manipulate the situation to his advantage.

_I'll start with Neji first._ he thought, a slight unease fluttering in his stomach as Sakura's face flashed into his mind again. _Yes, Sakura is important, but she's not really into being a serious kunoichi yet. Hum.. maybe I should try and get her prepared early? She could definitely use a head-start until Tsunade returns._

Torn between trying to stem Neji's fatalistic attitude and Sakura's mostly-helpless fighting skills down the road, Naruto decided to ask Yamato. The former Root member was eating breakfast in the living room when Naruto climbed up the outside of a wall with chakra and slipped in through a window.

"Yamato-taicho!" he called in greeting. The other man gave a start and choked on the fish and rice in his mouth, having seen Naruto leave the apartment earlier yet never before had the boy arrive through the window.

Naruto stepped forward quickly and hit him over the back a couple of times, helping the man swallow roughly before turning with a frustrated look on his face toward the jinchuriki. Yamato's expression clearly said '_What the hell are you doing that to me for!_'. Laughing lightly Naruto gave an apologetic shrug and voiced his questions once the older man settled down.

Sighing and looking up at the ceiling in consternation, Yamato pulled up a scroll and nearby pen and quickly wrote out his answer with the pale brown ink bought two days earlier in order to conserve his chakra. Naruto read it over when he was done. '_Who would benefit the most from your intervention now? Can either just go on as they are without suffering for it?_'

Naruto looked thoughtful as he considered that again. _Neji eventually got the truth at the Chunin exams, and he seemed to deal with it just fine after wards... but Sakura's skill set definitely sucks. She wasn't able to defend herself or Sasuke in the Forest of Death..._ sighing as well Naruto nodded his head.

"Okay. I'll get started with Sakura. Hopefully she can handle the real ninja world this early. Thanks Yamato-taicho." he told the other shinobi. Yamato waved his thanks away with a weary look and went back to his breakfast, cautiously waiting for Naruto to depart before digging in again.

* * *

Sasuke blinked one eye open blearily as he was shaken gently awake. He was still sore from yesterday's 'training'. He hadn't expected to be babied, but what he was put through definitely fell under the definition of torture. "Up and at it, Sasuke." Kakashi told him firmly.

Outside Guy and his apprentice Lee were waiting quietly, another backpack waiting beside them. Guy was_ thrilled_ to have his eternal rival joining in on the morning sessions for two days in a row, and it was bound to pump up Lee-san all the more to have _his_ eternal rival along for the ride as well.

They had to wait roughly five minutes for the two to emerge again, a slightly sick looking Sasuke grimacing as he reached over and hefted the backpack into the air. He grunted at the weight and nearly stumbled over until Lee reached out to support him, a faint smile on the edge of his lips.

Sasuke couldn't return it. He just shrugged the straps over his arms and leaned forward to prevent falling over from it. Behind him Kakashi slipped two common tanto into his jacket securely before striding over to stand beside and slightly ahead of Sasuke. "Are you both ready?" Guy asked the two boys with a wide grin.

"Yes, Guy-sama!" Lee returned in a slightly rushed voice. Sasuke grunted his wary acknowledgment in answer.

"Hm! Then let us begin the first ten laps around Konoha!" Guy agreed and began at what he considered a slow jog, which meant a brisk and hasty walk for the children. Kakashi kept pace with his fellow jounin easily enough.

For the first lap Sasuke was able to keep up with his fellow apprentice, but by the start of the second he was lapsing behind, and as the third had begun he was flat out panting with his hands on his knees. Kakashi shunshined back to him as Guy and Lee jogged in place up ahead waiting.

"Sasuke?" he asked. The boy shot him a vicious look. "If you'd like we can decrease the weight _again_, but the number of laps will have to be increased to equal out the results." he offered. They had had to do this _yesterday_ and it was thoroughly embarrassing for the Uchiha. He considered refusing and trying to keep up again, but... the throb in his shoulders and the stiffness building up within his legs was too much.

He dropped the backpack to the ground and settled in next to it, motioning with one hand limply and his eyes downcast for his teacher to adjust the weight accurately. _Have to be careful here. _Kakashi thought as he approached and dispelled the additional weights placed there, dropping the weight to roughly ten pounds overall.

"Okay. That's about five additional laps added to the count. Are you ready?" he asked.

_How does Lee do this? Surely one month wasn't enough to bring him up to that level of stamina?_ Sasuke questioned silently. "..." pushing back to his feet the Uchiha snatched up the backpack as though it was the most loathed object in existence and settled into it again, kicking off from the dirt and starting toward the other two down the road again.

Kakashi scanned him with the Sharingan to make sure there wasn't the same kind of damage building up as before and nodded his head. _You'll get used to this soon enough, Sasuke. And once you have... just maybe... _that_ can start to unfold within you._ he thought with concern, for the idea he had had previously had visited him again until this morning when he finally spoke of it with Guy.

It was agreed upon by both teachers that their apprentices would under go the same efforts to unlock it once the time was right. Whether or not the two children could handle the strain that accompanied the necessary pre-training would be seen in the months ahead.

* * *

Jiraiya had a puzzle on his hands. The information he had gleaned from Yakushi Kabuto a couple of mornings ago seemed most trustworthy, considering the means he had gone to gather it, and he was considering what to do with the traitor to Konoha- should he kill the young shinobi or just turn him over to the ANBU for dissecting?

But that wasn't the puzzle, no. He had information that confirmed what his own efforts had already delivered as rumors, namely that Orochimaru had been _very_ busy since abandoning Konoha. The bases alone scattered around were worth investigating- _if_ the locations Kabuto had spilled to him were where they should be.

Just because Orochimaru had apparently told him where a couple were didn't mean he wasn't lying for a situation precisely like this, and knowing the snake Sannin as Jiraiya did that was a distinct probability.

He had to make up his mind on if risking an unknown attack was worth finding out more about what Orochimaru was experimenting with the First's DNA for, or any other highly illegal and insane projects.

Before he could reach a decision an ANBU member approached him on the Hokage monument and handed over a scroll. "Hm." flicking open the seal he read the contents and began to shake his head before pausing, considering the message therein. At last he let out a short laugh and handed the scroll back to the ANBU member.

"Tell him I'll be there soon. I've got to make a few preparations for a side-trip on the way over and back first, but I'll do it." Jiraiya told the masked shinobi. "Oh, and you should look into the house at..." telling the ANBU where to find the trussed up and thoroughly miserable Kabuto, Jiraiya began to descend back into Konoha proper.

A short time later and Ibiki would be digging around inside the young traitors skull happily, while the Sannin member would be taking the Hokage's response to Suna in person.

* * *

Arriving at the academy Naruto scanned the various faces in his class for the one in question. It didn't take him long to locate the pink haired girl toward the back, sitting beside another blond that was probably still her best friend. Instead of taking his usual position Naruto worked his way over to the two girls and nudged his way in between Sakura and the boy beside her.

All three looked at his sudden intrusion blankly while the teacher settled into place and began speaking. "_What are you doing here?_" Ino asked quietly to keep from being heard. Naruto shrugged.

"_Felt like learning something for once. Hard to hear in the very back._" he evaded equally quietly, knowing the reputation he had as a slacker originally. Ino humphed and turned toward the teacher, while the kid beside him grumbled and moved over more once it was clear he wasn't going anywhere.

Sakura followed her best friend in turning back to the teacher and away from him, forcing Naruto to likewise comply for the moment. After class was over he approached Sakura again. "Have you considered what you're going to do as a kunoichi one day?" he asked her. Before she could give him a response Ino showed up.

"Alright, now you're just being a pest! Beat it Naruto!" she scolded. Naruto's eyes widened a fraction as he waited to see what Sakura would do, but friendship won out over risking answering the troublesome boy and getting her own name dragged through the mud with his. She and Ino departed together, leaving Naruto on his own.

_Well. Guess I'll just have to try a little harder._ he thought with a frown.

* * *

The next several days tried his patience. If he snapped at Ino it was bound to reflect even more poorly on him and just sour Sakura's already dampening mood toward the jinchuriki, but he was seriously getting irritated at trying to talk some sense into his pink haired future team-mate.

At last, it all came down to a simple encounter. A young but clearly rounding Choji finally got around to accepting Ino's prodding to do something about Naruto. "Look, will you just leave them alone so I can get back to eating in peace?" Choji asked outside the doorway at the start of the next class.

Naruto sighed. "I don't want to have this conversation with you, Choji. I just want to have a few minutes to talk with Sakura uninterrupted." he responded flatly. The other boy's features hardened. "Why?" he asked.

Naruto tilted his head in question of Choji's expression. "Because she needs to be prepared for the trials outside our village. She's a civilian, Choji. She's already starting off at a disadvantage against the world we're living in, and I don't want to see her get hurt by that someday." he told the other boy honestly.

For a moment it looked like Choji would accept that and let things go. Then Naruto was slapped upside the head by a book and found himself on the floor looking up at Sakura herself. "Ow!" he said, rubbing the spot sorely.

"You chauvinistic pig!" Sakura growled at him, waving the book in his direction. "How dare you assume I'm some weakling!" she continued, taking a step toward him threateningly. Naruto pushed up to his feet and ducked as she swung at him again, then caught it on the return against one wrist and looked into her eyes.

"I never said you were a weakling. You just aren't learning as much ninjutsu and such in your off time as someone coming from a ninja family!" Naruto stated firmly. Her eyes narrowed and she drew back and aimed at another part of his body, and he once again caught the blow carefully without using his fingers.

"Do you see what I'm doing to block you?" he asked. "Have you even seen taijutsu used before?" his voice remained carefully above condescending, ending on a neutral tone. She grimaced and hesitated before her next blow, and he waited a moment before relaxing some.

Then she threw the book at him. Naruto sighed and twisted aside to avoid it before remembering Choji was almost right behind him, and his eyes narrowed before he pivoted on one foot and carried through the momentum, allowing him to twist around and slam one hand to the book, carry forward again and press the book against a wall, ending roughly half an inch away from Choji's nose.

Both looked at him with widened eyes as he gripped the edges with his fingers and turned back to the girl. "You see what I just did? Sakura, you probably haven't even been taught the academy style of taijutsu yet! If you don't get started _now_ you'll have a harder time when it matters!" Naruto stated flatly, tossing the book over to her and striding into the class a two minutes late.

The class had heard the entire ordeal, and the teacher was even in plain view yet he never made a move to stop any of it. Silence reigned as the jinchuriki made his way in annoyance toward the back of the class and his usual spot again and settled down on his arms to wait.

Choji entered a few moments later, but Sakura never did.

**End Chapter Thirteen.**


	14. Chapter 14: Encounter with a snake

A/N: Thanks, Bobboky, Crystalzap. We'll see more Naruto and Sasuke talk probably in the next chapter, since he still has to resolve the issue he created with Sakura last time. I'm still not 100% on if Jiraiya knows or not about Naruto, but for now at least take it that he doesn't but has suspicions about the kid.

And now to Dan. When I first read your reviews I did have a legitimate answer for them, but now I'm just drawing a blank. Suffice it to say that it is unfortunate so many flaws stood out to you that it eventually became impossible to continue reading.

Much appreciated, Inuyonas, thank you. As usual thank you to the readers, favoriters, and alert+ers who have added this story to your lists.

* * *

The clang of metal against metal filtered through the trees around the area as Sasuke brought his tanto to bare against Lee's. Truth be told, the month of 'training' had paid off for both boys far in excess to what was expected. Sasuke's natural urge to keep up coupled with Lee's drive to succeed where his other areas of skill had failed him was pushing them both along quickly.

Stamina was still a weak point, but the breaks had become longer as the weight began falling less and less from what it started as in order to keep going without showing weakness. Lee continued to have the physical advantage from his earlier starting time but when it came to their matches later in each day Sasuke edged out victory just as often as he lost.

Pulling away and twisting aside as he considered the next blow, Sasuke's eyes glanced down to his opponents wrist to try and see where the tanto was likely to swing at him. _The chest?_ he thought and hesitated a fraction of a second in a calculated risk.

Lee took the hesitation at face value and struck earlier, slashing toward one shoulder. Sasuke grimaced as he dropped back with a narrow line of red cut into his white shirt, proof that he was at least close and getting a little better at predicting movements thanks to his growing familiarity with the opponent- and his teachers occasional advice over dinner.

Lee's eyebrows rose at his successful blow and drew back from the expected return attack, putting some distance between them. "I thought you were quicker than that." he said.

Sasuke frowned. "I am." he shot back and put his chakra where his mouth was, having pushed enough through his legs quickly to launch across the distance and thrust his weapon for the other boys neck.

Now Lee had to drop back and he barely managed to get his own tanto around in time to prevent the burn of the others sword across the side of his neck, a non-fatal but painful move regardless. Stepping quickly to the side Sasuke threw his other hand forward, grimaced, and twisted the fingers around as he once more brought his weapon forward.

Lee shouted in surprise and dismay when his blade was torn to the side as if of it's own accord and left him wide open to attack. He winced a moment later when blood ran across his eternal rival's tanto, but the pain following it was less then usual and he found out why when Sasuke relaxed his stance and stepped back- as only the tip had drifted across his skin.

"Hn! A good match, my pupil, you fought valiantly!" Guy's voice called from the branches of a nearby tree before he dropped down, a strip of gauze already held in his hand in case of just such a wound occurred, signaling the decisive blow if this was a real encounter.

Lee sighed as the cloth was wrapped around his throat tight enough to prevent the wound from becoming a problem and nodded at his sensei's words. Ruffling his hair, Guy turned to Sasuke and examined the shoulder slash with a critical eye. "Hm. Yes, you too must be wrapped! Kakashi?" the jounin called up into the trees.

The Copy Ninja dropped down as well and stowed away his book, reaching into his vest pocket for the small bundle of gauze he carried since these matches had become common at the end of each day. Neither jounin would actually heal the others student unless their rival was missing from the session.

* * *

Naruto was growing concerned. Ever since his last encounter with Sakura a month previous she had failed to show up for class, and perhaps worse was that no one would answer the door when he knocked at her house.

As far as he knew, she had simply stopped coming out of her room after leaving the academy grounds that day, and he knew that since Ino made sure he was aware of the fact every time class began or, if he avoided her then, when it ended.

Sakura wasn't seeing anyone of her old friends and it was Naruto's fault. He found himself back on his training grounds after school today with his frustrations rising again. _How stupid can you be?_ he asked himself as he drilled newer kunai into the circle mark just off center with a sharp _thunk_, having asked Yamato to buy him some not long ago.

_She wasn't exactly a well of stability in these days! I forgot how strong she became when I was training with Jiraiya those three years before... dammit! What if she never becomes a kunoichi now!_ throwing the other three at the circle as he thought Naruto ended with two of them missing altogether, and his expression only soured further.

_I can't let that happen, and I won't! If Sakura doesn't show up at school tomorrow, I'm going to crawl through a window and drag her out myself!_ he swore, clenching a fist tightly at his own idiocy.

* * *

"Hello... _Jiraiya-san._" the cold sound reflected off the walls and back toward the doorway even before the Toad Sage stepped through it. Most of the base had been demolished when he arrived, but the final few halls he had been through was something else altogether.

Scenes of blood spill decorated the walls in multiple degrees of red, crimson, and brown from age. Two tables had remains left on them he could only identify based off of the skeletal structure as once being human, even with several critical elements torn free.

The machines lining the final room actually made him look away in both pity for the poor men and also in disgust at what his former companion and team mate was doing now.

Without even stopping, the black-haired and pale skinned man in the far left corner placed his scalpel along one edge and deftly sliced through the top few layers of skin in a crisp and nearly completed circle. Beneath the knife the subject moaned faintly and stirred against the metal spikes holding him crucified in position to the table beneath.

"It's fascinating what you can turn a strong shinobi into with enough time and practice put into it." speaking as he worked, the scalpel descended deeper with a little effort and another section was carefully drawn away without fully breaking it off. "I've been at this for six hours today, _Jiraiya-san_, and _still_ his will to live thrives strong enough to endure the surgery procedure."

Jiraiya's grimace narrowed further. "Either you put him out of his misery or I'll do it for you, Orochimaru." he stated flatly. The fully perfected Rasengan he had learned from Minato before the others sacrifice years ago was swirling in the mans right hand.

Across the room Orochimaru let out a soft sigh and stood upright, twirling the scalpel between two fingers effortlessly as he reached up to draw the blood stained visor away from his eyes and push it into his hair. "You _never_ did accept the sacrifices made during warfare, _Jiraiya-san_. I caught this traitor preparing to _poison_ my villages supply of water, potentially_ killing _hundreds. Is it not my right to draw out as many answers from his soul as I can before finishing up here?" he questioned curiously.

"_No_. You've obviously gotten whatever answers you wanted, or am I mistaken in the jar resting beside his head with the _severed tongue _inside, or the _cracked headband _at the base? You're _sick_, Orochimaru!" Jiraiya shouted by the end, emotions stirred by the level of torture and simple gore decorating the area- as well as the other man's non-chalet attitude toward it all.

Orochimaru hissed quietly before gripping the scalpel and in one smooth motion driving it through the victims chest bone into the heart beneath, and still further out the back and firmly into the steel table below. "_So be it._" he called across the room. "A _welcoming gift_ to you for finally meeting again after several years." turning away from the brief choking sounds made as blood rushed out into the chest cavity, Orochimaru wiped his hands off on a corner of his smock not already saturated by it.

"You may lower your ninjutsu. I've spent just as much time devoted to _unraveling_ it as I have _preparing_ for your eventual arrival." he continued, approaching a worn iron chair and settling down into it comfortably. Gesturing with one hand he offered another chair with a dead and beheaded man chained to it loosely toward his fellow Sannin member.

Jiraiya's other hand clenched into a fist. He had come here for knowledge but what he had found instead... it sickened him deeply, but further than that it scared him that _this_ is what the once quiet yet brilliant friend of his had not only descended into, but had actually come to embrace now.

Stepping into the room proper he forced his eyes to scan for any kind of obvious trap, senses alert for _when_ Orochimaru struck, not _if_ he would. The other man studied him in silence for a few moments before reaching over to the table beside the chair and bringing the cup there up to his lips to sip from.

"Really, _Jiraiya-san_, our first reunion after such time and you provide me with the cold shoulder in such a manner. Haven't I been a gracious host so far? We've much available to talk about, you and I. Surely you would be willing to settle down and... chat." he spoke after another few moments.

Jiraiya grimaced. "I doubt there's anything left of the man I once knew in you to make that conversation worth while... it's over, Orochimaru. I'm bringing you back to Konoha for trial and execution." finally settling his eyes back on his fellow Sannin member the Toad Sage's Rasengan began to swirl quicker.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed further but he kept a loose smile on his lips as he said "Strong words for a man in _your_ situation. Do not _forget _whose _domain_ you have entered, _Toad_ _Sage_." he stated.

A brittle silence held out for a few seconds following that before Jiraiya seemingly vanished from sight and the small sphere suddenly accelerated, rushing straight for Orochimaru's throat. Just as quickly the other shinobi's yellow eyes flickered and he kicked back and leaned away to the side, hissing sharply.

Even before he touched the floor with his left hand and brought one booted foot up to kick out at where he smelled Jiraiya to have shifted to through shunshin, the walls had begun to rumble as Orochimaru's summons answered the call from the nest some distance behind one wall.

* * *

Sakura did not show up for class the next day. Naruto grimaced and waited a few more minutes after it had begun before standing up and making his way for the window. The teacher looked up at him. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded. Naruto ignored him, drew the window open, and stepped up to the ledge. "Hey! Get back here!" the teacher shouted and took a few quick steps forward.

Naruto looked over one shoulder at him. "I'll be back when Sakura is." he said loud enough for the rest of the class to overhear, then dropped down to the ground below roughly ten feet. The teacher made a half-hearted attempt to grab him by the hair before giving up and watching as Naruto landed with a dull thump and rolled several times, then pushed up to his feet and began loping off quickly.

It was only a short time later that he was in the civilian housing district and knocking on the door in one final attempt to try a reasonable result. No one answered, though his hearing did pick up movement inside. _Fine! Unreasonable it is!_ he thought in annoyance and headed around to an open wall.

Scaling it as quickly as he did his own apartment walls, Naruto looked in the window and almost dropped back to the ground in surprise. Sakura was actually being instructed by one of the other teachers! Her form was still terrible, but the look of concentration on her face showed how much she was trying.

Before he could drop down again the instructor glanced in his direction, and by proxy Sakura followed when the other gained a slightly slack jawed expression. Her eyes widened in surprise as well before she grimaced and clenched one hand into a fist again, glaring at him through the glass.

"Um... hi?" he greeted somewhat awkwardly when she approached and drew the window open. "_What do you think you're doing here?_" she hissed at him then looked out and at the few other people staring at the odd sight. "_Get in here! NOW!_" gripping the front of his shirt Sakura yanked the jinchuriki inside and quickly closed the blinds.

Picking himself up from the floor, Naruto looked between the two before settling back on Sakura. "I'm happy you took my advice seriously." he said after a moment to compose himself. She shook her head furiously.

"It wasn't because of you!" she denied sharply. He raised an eyebrow but accepted her attitude for now, not wanting to upset her any further.

"Well, I'm still happy for you." he said. "By the time we become Genin you should have no trouble at all." he added, then looked over to the instructor. _If she continued with this hack she wouldn't be much better off then originally. _"_But_..." he paused, thinking.

_I don't really know what Kuranai or the other female Jonin are up to now, but Old-man Hokage probably would and with one notation already in the files he might be willing to help get one to take in Sakura like Kakashi-sensei did with Sasuke_. he thought with a faint smile, a plan coming to mind quickly.

"But it would probably be a good idea to get someone who can dedicate _their full ability_ to your success once you're good with this basic style." he finished.

The older woman blinked before scowling down at him. "How dare you imply I haven't been teaching this child fully!" she snapped at him. Looking back over his shoulder toward Sakura he saw the flickering emotions running across her face, finally settling on indecision and some apprehension.

Naruto turned back to the instructor. "How long have you been doing this?" he asked. "Four hours a day for the last three weeks, you wretched brat. Her progress is drea-" pausing and swallowing back the rest of the response about to slip off the tip of her tongue, the woman's eyebrows met in a flash of anger.

Without needing to look around Naruto could sense the sudden stiffening in surprise as Sakura flinched, understanding the implication. _I don't like doing this to you, Sakura, but you _need_ someone who cares what becomes of your progress. Too many jackals like this are around the academy._ he thought.

"If I can stop whatever taijutsu you can throw at me, will you put in a request for the next highest skilled sensei to take over her training?" he questioned in a neutral tone, slipping into the same basic style as was generally taught at the academy- with all of it's flaws showing.

The instructor grimaced. "That will never happen." she stated quietly, "Your form is worse than hers." having already slipped up, their was little point in concealing her thoughts any further. Naruto's eyes narrowed and Sakura crumbled a little more on the inside, stepping away and closer to the window.

"Then what have you got to lose." he challenged, a flicker of orange chakra bubbling around the back of his neck. The Instructor settled into a more solid looking pose with a hard look on her face. "And when you lose, brat, you will finally leave our village. Do you agree?" she challenged in return.

Naruto frowned but nodded his head, confirming his agreement and lulling her into a false sense of security. A moment later when the taller kunoichi came toward him Naruto grinned, catching the first blow and ducking under the follow up.

A few minutes after it started and it was apparent that Naruto was not a sap at taijutsu like his academy files listed. He may not be perfect, but it was a damn sight better than that of the one he was facing off with, as evidenced by his reactionary time and ability to counter.

An hour after the match started, and Sakura was timidly carrying a scroll to the Hokage's office declaring the Instructor unfit to continue for the next few months and requesting one of the chunin or above available sensei's to take over instead, and a fair distance away Naruto was grinning into his bowl of ramen noodles at the success of the hastily constructed plan.

* * *

Holding one numb arm where the giant snakes poison had done it's job well, Jiraiya looked over the completely destroyed land where the battle had exploded into action. Orochimaru had developed far greater combative skills in the seven years since they had last met, but what was truly terrifying was his genjutsu control.

It had taken the Toad Sage some time to figure out what was wrong with the world around him and break free, and by that point he was already being eaten alive by the snake. His Rasengan made sure it's brains were scattered to the four winds a few moments later, and it was during this time that Orochimaru had vanished.

Surely the first few minutes of the two on one battle had been real, but he wasn't confident that he had actually seen the extent of his former team mates skill in action. "Look's like... that mission to Suna's gonna have to be... delayed." grimacing as the poison started to spread, Jiraiya forced his hands to respond correctly in order to drag out the summoning scroll to Mount Myoboku.

He only was able to confirm he was _still_ under the effects of a genjutsu when Orochimaru reappeared from thin air to his left and held out a thin katana toward his chest. Time seemed to hesitate for a few moments before Jiraiya smiled and the length of the blade rushed forward to meet his body.

Blood splattered across the summoning contract and sucked the two of them across the land.

**End Chapter Fourteen.**


	15. Chapter 15: Sannin versus Sannin again

A/N: As usual thank you all so much, both for your attention to the story and for your patience during November. Over 200 alerts and 180 favorites! Make's me smile just looking at the stats page!We should be returning to a two-update per month minimum for now on, starting with today the sixth of December.

the DragonBard: You and I know that, but Naruto is still putting things in perspective between his old timeline and the past as a child again, and in the context in-story he simply chose the first of the old sensei's that came to him.

Crystalzap, Lunatic Pandora1: Henh. Jiraiya's a wild card, we'll have to see if that wound is a fatal as it may have been intended to be. Remember though, time-travels not a straight-forward thing. You can't have nothing but good unfold without some unfortunate side effects cropping up here and there...

"Guest" reviewer: Hahah thanks :)

wannabwriter14: Wow. Definitely, thank you for adding so much to your lists :D

I would also like to make a note on the AU that Naruto has found himself in. Unless otherwise stated, most things have remained the same but some characters are more efficient than they would be in canon, and especially so for the time period.

* * *

With a soft rush of air Jiraiya landed on his knees again within Mount Myoboku, and almost diagonally to his left Orochimaru too reappeared still holding his Sword of Kusanagi. The blade sank through Jiraiya's left shoulder and into his ribcage painfully, but the wound had missed the intended area- his heart.

Throwing his right hand around suddenly the Toad Sage managed to grip Orochimaru's pale hand in his own and squeeze down tightly, and in that instant yank the sword from his body and thrust the hilt back into the wielders chest.

Orochimaru absorbed the blow easily enough and danced back further to avoid anything else his former team-mate might have in store, giving a brief once-over to the gaping wounds in Jiraiya's body with a critical eye. "_Tsk, tsk, Toad Sage..._" he chided in an almost disappointed tone. "I was expecting better of you. To lead such a vicious foe right into your heartland? To become yourself so gravely injured?" he questioned.

Jiraiya breathed in and out sharply as his blood gushed from the two wounds, but with the red came a thick yellow from his shoulder as the former snake summons venom leaked out and away from his heart.

Orochimaru carefully looked the surroundings over and listened for any sound of movement, taking note of the fountain of murky liquid behind him and the multitude of stone statues about. "Nothing to say to that, _Toad Sage_?" he questioned again. "What a pity. I had believed you capable of _enduring_ such a wound _better_... but _Manda's_ venom works so _efficiently_ these days, it seems. Goodbye, _Jiraiya-san_." he stated and let go of the weapon.

It hung in the air of it owns will as a pale blue glow enshrouded the blade, quivering in anticipation. In the moment between the sword rushing at Jiraiya's head his eyes blinked open and his good hand descended to wrap up with the wounded one, driving through a set of hand-seals in remarkable speed and fluidity.

Orochimaru tsked again even as he silently commended his fellow Sannin member on the last ditch effort. "Too late!" he stated and with that Kusanagi cut across the distance to strike.

* * *

"Hello again, Naruto. Let's take a walk, shall we?" Sarutobi greeted with false cheer, his smile just a little too thin around the edges. The boy in question swallowed the last few noodles in his bowl before turning with a nod toward the shop owner and dropping down to the ground.

"What's up, old man Hokage?" he returned quietly. Sarutobi nearly grimaced as he walked around and placed one hand onto his shoulder firmly, gesturing for them to start off on the route leading toward the civilian district.

"Sticking your paws into another fate already, Naruto?" he asked equally quietly once they were well away from any well-intentioned but troublesome ears. The jinchuriki shrugged uncomfortably as he realized where this was going.

"I was only doing what was best for her. That hack instructor wasn't even trying, and she admitted as much! I _know_ Sakura has the talent inside of her, it's just a matter of finding it." Naruto protested the forthcoming argument and delivered his counter to it. "You're already making exceptions for Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei, so why not help out Sakura as well?" he concluded.

Sarutobi remained silent for a time in consideration. At length he answered. "... Kakashi has, perhaps, the most free time among the Jounin now that his ANBU days are over. There are too few instructors to be found that could give Sakura enough training like Sasuke has been getting, and even then his status is what is primarily at fault for that." he stated with a note of tiredness to his tone.

Naruto made to argue and the Hokage held up a hand to forestall it. "I did not say it was impossible. If you were to help on the off days, the instructor I've chosen would be able to adjust to taking Sakura under her wing more easily." Sarutobi finished, leaving the choice to fall onto Naruto's shoulders.

"Seriously? That's all?" he asked before smiling widely. "Of course I'll help! That's the whole point of changing things!" his excitement slowed as another thing came to mind. "How much do you think I should show her? I mean, she already knows I've mastered a variant on the basic taijutsu style."

"That will depend on what the instructor chooses to begin with. Simply help your team-mate grow in those predefined areas without revealing just how far along you truly are." the Hokage answered. Naruto nodded his head.

"Now, onto another subject: What did you tell Jiraiya?" Sarutobi questioned warily.

* * *

Ducking his head down toward the ground to avoid the blow Jiraiya's hands were filled with a trio of thin scrolls, each baring the kanji for Seal upon them in pale red. The sword halted in mid motion a foot past him and rotated around to rush for the back of his exposed neck.

Between that moment and the next the Toad Sage slapped two of the scrolls to his ribcage and along the underside of the arm where the holes were bleeding, gritting his teeth as the trigger holding the flames within was activated.

Two of the three wounds were cauterized shut as the scrolls hung to his skin leaving only the original entry point toward the top of his left shoulder, where the muscles within were still damaged and the bone cracked.

Kusanagi descended upon him as the necessary chakra finished flowing through his hair and several strands of it rushed upward to encircle the length from tip to hilt a scant few millimeters from Jiraiya's neck. A short distance away Orochimaru's yellow eye's narrowed to thin slits and he brought his own hands forward.

Pressing the third seal scroll to his shoulder Jiraiya's left hand sank a small portion of his chakra down into his enemies shadow in time for the other Sannin member to fade from his sight. _Damn_. _Genjutsu- again_. he thought.

Enshrouding himself in a protective field of extended hair he paused to gather his energy and take a few moments to rest. The after effects of the poison were still screwing up his concentration from moment to moment and the blood loss was nothing to laugh about it, but he had survived worse situations than this.

The biggest problem was that he just didn't have the time to sit around and do nothing. Orochimaru _could_ be waiting to attack him again, and in all probability _was_ actually attacking while he was trapped in some illusion just like earlier in the day. But if his former team-mate was giving him the slip in order to invade the rest of Mount Myoboku...

It was difficult to be sure, but he needed to do this while he was still capable of it. Remaining still as could be while keeping the the union of Needle Jizo and Wild Lion's Mane Technique active for defense, Jiraiya focused and dug into the well of slumbering strength at his core and brought forth the third balance to spiritual and physical chakra.

The Toad Sage drew upon Senjutsu chakra even as he felt the errors he still hadn't corrected manifest for it.

* * *

Sarutobi pressed the warm sake glass to his forehead in hope of alleviating the headache growing there. After talking with Naruto and learning that he had indeed revealed himself to Jiraiya-san and even gone so far as to coerce the elder shinobi into revisiting certain 'critically flawed formations of assault and defense', whatever _that_ meant to the jinchuriki, he had returned to his office in time to find the other two members of the Council in wait.

The vanishing of Danzo Shimura could be ignored no longer, nor could the assignments of a former ANBU member to raise up the last Uchiha or the way in which he was apparently being trained.

Two hours unfolded during the 'debate' and his decisions questioned from different angles more than once when he refused to answer certain pointed demands. At most he revealed that Danzo had acted outside of his authority and done the very thing the Uchiha massacre had been meant to prevent with the hidden Root at the heart of it all, and that keeping a proper eye on Sasuke was required to keep him from becoming unstable.

The Sannin's names may have been raised and dragged into the arguments as one point to draw any potential attention away from how Naruto was involved, and in the end when at last Koharu and Homura let up with a wary note of dissatisfaction, Sarutobi brought up his journal.

'_The recent events are starting to task even my strength of spirit. Naruto said I would live for at least several more years, but once more I can not help but be reminded that his arrival here in what may not even be his home dimension may influence things for the better or worse_.'

'_The strain of ordering the Uchiha massacre go through, coupled with concern for Naruto's actions- and beyond that, his life, regardless of the experience he has- is making my body grow ill in ways I have not felt since Minato and Kushina's sacrifice almost nine years ago._'

'_I must begin making preparations. Naruto thinks that only he can change the world around him for the better in the years to come... but just what will occur when the changes turn sour? His insufferable positivity does not seem willing to accept such outcomes, and I fear it will crush him should someone he wishes to protect is undone._'

'_It is possible that before he graduates as a chunin, before the point where Orochimaru would have once attacked, that my life will expire. And if it does so... who then will step into the reigns of Hokage in my place? And what if his actions merely trigger certain events to unfold sooner than they would have otherwise?_'

* * *

Jogging lightly that morning the four-some of eternal rivals had entered the next stage of the training, as even Sasuke and Lee were expected to keep apace with their teachers. The difference came with the removal of the weighted backpacks altogether to test out their stamina.

For Sasuke, it was startling to feel how light weight his body felt along the first lap. He had become warily accustomed to the heavy pack and the regular breaks along the way, and this change of pace was remarkable indeed.

He wouldn't admit it to Lee and maybe not even to Kakashi-sensei, but he actually felt _good_ like this. He wasn't lagging behind everyone else, he wasn't panting with exhaustion. He was striding forward quickly and easily and his breathing was almost even despite the brisker pace being set.

As they neared the end of the third lap he still wasn't feeling very fatigued, though Lee beside him looked fresher than ever. _Is Guy-sensei's training really that different that he can handle this so well?_ the youngest Uchiha thought with a hint of dismay. _I'm still not tired but he doesn't even look like he's breaking a sweat!_

By the sixth lap Sasuke's shirt was gathering sweat and his hair lay matted to his forehead by it. Lee had finally begun to show some hint of weariness by a slightly lowered brow and more concentrated expression, but his breathing hadn't altered, unlike the other boy's who was breathing sharply in and out of his nose.

He began to channel chakra down into his feet and legs to help relieve the burn of his muscles and push himself forward quicker, taking the lead away from his eternal rival. Lee's eyes widened in surprise as Sasuke got a full foot ahead and stayed there with a stronger jog. Breathing deeper he began to dig down into the dirt path harder on each step and made up the distance after several paces.

Behind them Kakashi and Guy watched the true trial of stamina and endurance begin. To them it was only a matter of time before pride motivated one to take the lead and that same pride got his fellow shinobi moving, entering a wearying cycle.

"Should we go through with the sparring afterward?" Kakashi questioned quietly, regarding the prospective plan they had devised roughly a month previous when all of this began. Guy answered after a few moments of watching the duo ahead and mentally comparing their respective levels between yesterday and today.

"Hn, yes, yes. They must learn to walk on all surfaces during combat! Let the trees test their final reserves at the end of the day!" the other Jounin confirmed. Kakashi flicked his hitai-ate out of the way and scanned their pathways with his Sharingan and smiled at the corner of his lips.

"They're finally using their chakra more fully. Sasuke's concentration of it along his muscles and the bending point of the joints is letting him absorb his strides for the most part, while Lee-san is putting what control he has over it into the soles and lower ankle." he commented.

Guy merely nodded his head, satisfied that while his apprentice showed no skill in the ninjutsu attempts so far tried, he wasn't as bad off as to be unable to use his chakra at all when it was required. It meant the prospect that all of this was leading toward one day might just be possible to realize.

* * *

An explosion of sharpened points of hair ran the area around Jiraiya and he rose to his feet, right hand reached up and wrapping around the hilt of Kusanagi tightly. A spray of blood atop one of the statues betrayed Orochimaru's location as well as the dozen or so brown diamond-weaved cobras that erupted from his sleeves at the same time.

Thick red lines ran across Jiraiya's face and left his eyes, just above his upper lip, and spiking into his hairline covered in it. Around the top of each eye however were flares of orange, and the pupils themselves slanted toward horizontal without fully reaching it.

As was to be expected his nose had grown and become almost entirely toad-like, and the thick white beard that formed was closer to one of the statues around him. Seeing the blood appear in mid air Jiraiya shunshined forward and loosed another volley of the Hell Needles from his hair, and the speed at which he moved took his fellow Sannin by surprise.

Reacting to the next appearance of blood the Toad Sage slashed with Kusanagi in the general range and was satisfied to hear the sharp intake of breath. _I can hear you, Orochimaru. Your breath is like the rush and flow of a churning river._ Ducking beneath the next volley of poisoned snakes he shunshined around to what he took to be his invisible foes back and struck with his left hand, carving a pale seal into the back of the neck.

Kusanagi tugged against his grip and Jiraiya let it go, hands meeting together again as he gathered up oil within his mouth and released it just as quickly as he heard the next row of furious serpents being volleyed. A wall of flame erupted between the two Sannin and the Toad Sage wasted little of that time to react.

He stepped around it even before the technique had reached the first row of vipers and released another two to Orochimaru's left, cutting off part of his escape path before halting right beside the other shinobi.

At such close range Kusanagi was spun toward him as Orochimaru prepared one of his ninjutsu assaults and found another set of seals carved into his flesh before he could finished either motion, and like the one on his neck it was not nearly a clean cut.

Jiraiya caught the sword as it was freely controlled again and twisted it back around in time to shear off Orochimaru's four rightmost fingers, deriving a howl of pain and anger in the process. The last seal was cut into his forehead in that moment and the hidden Sannin faded back into view, face contorted with rage.

"_You failed, Orochimaru. The Chakra Suppression won't fade until well after our return to Konoha._" Jiraiya told him flatly, his voice somewhat deeper from the transformation, and in the next moment released the senjutsu chakra.

His fatigue was nearly overwhelming, and standing on the edge of the statue he swayed a few times. Orochimaru hissed and thrust his left hand forward to tear the sword out of the other shinobi's grasp, and in that instant slashed across Jiraiya's throat just as he lost his footing and collapsed to the ground from chakra exhaustion.

Pale blood ran out from the left front-side of the Toad Sage's neck and soaked the statues feet in crimson. "_Damn you, Jiraiya, damn you thrice over for these wounds...!_" above him Orochimaru approached the edge when the sounds of nearby voices reached him.

Sparing one terrible look to his former team-mate the snake Sannin threw himself to the edge of the clearing with what energy he had left and retreated to recover while he still could.

**End Chapter Fifteen.**


	16. Chapter 16: Resolution for the Toad Sage

A/N: A great influx of reaction to the last update.

PuppetMaster55: That was something I had to debate over for a time. Jiraiya's already taught Naruto quite a lot in the old time line, and while in this AU he might be able to offer some help or advice he has ultimately served his goal. The only thing left to do for Naruto at this point was be a companion/friend to fight for, and his death served a purpose in the end: Denying Orochimaru both access to many of his jutsu's and access to his own chakra for some time to come.

This is one of the things that Naruto will have to realize can and _will_ happen as he attempts to influence the things to come, and that like skipping a stone across a still lake the ripples can't always be predicted.

Lunatic Pandora1: Alas, for now it is.

TankerMDK: That's an issue I've been meaning to do something about for a while now. When I was starting this story I didn't have the definite frame of time in mind and used the massacre as the nearest defining moment for sake of ease- but time after time it's been a problem as I added more chapters.

The massacre occurred roughly six or so months before Naruto arrives, but encase I didn't actually have him say it Danzo was supposed to have been meeting with Orochimaru in secret before that point. I believe he said something about the Uchiha all having their eyes ruined by Itachi during the incident which is why he was limited to a few instead of the ten in canon. How far back _that_ was going on is in the air right now since I don't want to contradict it in a future chapter.

tragicmat1: Thank you :)

Lednacek: That in it self is the problem with the genre of time travel stories, and this one in particular. Naruto's at a point where there really isn't any big event taking place for a few more years, at least within Konoha. Unless I suddenly do a serious time-skip to bring us up to the Chunin Exams the focus has to be either upon the characters of the time or try to find something to fill the time with.

Once the major settings start to appear the characters should already be well defined so it'll be easier to describe some of them in a more passing environment while centering around an easier group.

As for Danzo... well noticed! The Kazekage should have been a little more rushed on issuing Danzo's execution date.

Bobboky: Hahah, thanks :)

Crystalzap: Indeed. But Jiraiya knew this could happen, and he chose to take the risk at stopping Orochimaru _now_ before he could go any further and cause so much damage and suffering. We'll probably get a scene once Naruto learns of his death that will be a flashback to the conversations they had together and what ultimately pushed him to act so soon.

Adventure Writer 28: Thank you very much :)

* * *

"Close, but angle your arm a little more when you block my next strike- it'll leave you less vulnerable to a counter with the same arm." Naruto spoke firmly as Sakura grew more used to his annual instructional matches.

Her sensei was due for arrival in the next half an hour and it made sense to spend that time practically instead of waiting around with one of the books she was told to buy, putting the knowledge she was gaining to use.

And besides, after what the boy across from her had done to that incompetent kunoichi her parents first hired roughly a week ago, she was more than willing to listen to his advice. His somewhat harsh attitude at the time and his skill seemed on par with the chunin Hokage-sama gave her.

Nodding her head to what he had just said Sakura stepped back and waited for him to charge forward, and after a few moments he did just that- from the side. He stepped quickly a few feet to her side and struck out with his left hand angled toward one shoulder.

Blinking at this new tactic Sakura absorbed the blow and found herself knocked down to her knees with the strength behind it. "Ow!" she said loudly, raising her good hand up to rub at the sore spot tenderly and giving him a sharp look.

Naruto shook his head. "You were starting to get a little too comfortable with my earlier motions. Don't forget! Just because you're picking up one definition of your opponent doesn't mean he or she won't have a backup in hand for when they see an opening." he told her in an entirely unapologetic tone.

The kunoichi-in-training frowned at his logic but couldn't disagree with it. Instead she countered with a question. "How do you know so much already?" her voice was irritated. Naruto shrugged and offered a hand to pull her back to her feet.

Seeing an opening of her own she reached forward with both hands and yanked him down to her level. _Cute. Her confidence could use the boost..._ he thought to himself once he felt the pressure redouble, and allowing his expression to shift to one of surprise he leaned into it on the full tug.

Her awkwardly delivered counter-attack managed to see him on his way to the ground after another moment and eating the tall grass this spot was chosen for, making the landing not exactly terrible save for one factor- he left his mouth open too long.

An instant after and he was spitting it aside with a scowl on his face. "Bleh! What kind of underhanded sneak attack was that?" he demanded. She suppressed a giggle at the look and pushed upward to her feet with a more pleasant if determined expression.

Hopping to his own feet Naruto changed tactics again on her. "Alright, come at me then! Let's see how well the last week is helping your offensive taijutsu." he said after a moment with some irritation mixed into his voice, and catching her startled look he mistook it for one of apprehension.

"Don't worry about knocking me around, just focus your attention to my movements and try to keep an eye on your own in the process. Learning to read a block is just as important as reading a strike." he told her more naturally.

"_Yes, a very good note to consider... and one she should have picked up from _me_, child._" spoke up a low feminine tone from behind his back. He turned slowly around and saw a woman he didn't really recognize standing there with her arms crossed, but the large dog at her side in addition to the twin markings across her cheeks helped him place her.

_Kiba's mother?_ he guessed. Before he could say anything Sakura bowed respectfully and greeted the elder kunoichi. "Inuzuka-sensei." she said softly. The other woman tsked and stepped forward, revealing the small boy standing in her shadow. The younger Kiba hadn't really caught his attention as much until now, a slight scowl on his features and no pup in sight.

"I don't have as much time today as I usually would, so we'll concentrate on your offensive tactics as the boy was saying." Tsume Inuzuka told her firmly, flicking her rather feral looking eyes back in the other twos direction. "_You, go play with Kiba or something until we're done here. Keep at eye on them Kuromaru._" she ordered in an equally firm tone.

Naruto blinked at being so easily dismissed but accepted it after a few moments consideration, nodding his head and waving good bye to Sakura. He approached Kiba as Kuromaru silently trotted at his side, as if keeping an eye on the jinchuriki wary for an attack. This effect was not missed by Naruto.

* * *

Fukasaku rested on his haunches before the Hokage, a grim expression etched into his features. The appearance of the toad had caused some apprehension for Sarutobi to begin with, but as the silence drew out longer and longer his unease grew with it.

At last Fukasaku opened his eyes and broke the silence. "Who is Naruto." it may have been intended as a question, but the way it was spoke fell clearly as a statement, the tone almost deadened.

Sarutobi's eyes thinned as he leaned forward. "What has happened that you would ask that name?" he questioned in turn. The small toad looked up at him flatly and rose up as hi as his height would allow.

"Jiraiya-sans last words spoke of a 'Naruto' and this village. He spoke of asking 'Naruto' why this had happened. And he spoke of a prophecy before his final breath fled. So I ask you again, Hiruzen Sarutobi, _who is Naruto_." the voice had grown heavy with emotion as the toad went on.

The Hokage let out a low moan of anguish at that news. "_I will seek him out myself if you would remain silent._" Fukasaku added with equal amounts of frustration and sadness.

_Ah... ah, Naruto! I warned you this would happen, I told you not to give away the truth so easily... and look at what it has cost this world so dearly! Jiraiya should yet still breath nearly a decade longer..._ Sarutobi thought, closing his eyes and raising one hand to block sight of the few tears gathering in place there.

The aged toad let him have several minutes of quiet to resolve his feelings over Jiraiya-san's loss before saying again, "_Who is Naruto._" and this time, the Hokage answered. His response did little to ease Fukasaku's mind however.

"_Minato Namikaze's son._"

* * *

Kiba gave him a sidelong glance as Naruto and he entered the park a little ways off. "When did you get so proficient?" he demanded at last. The jinchuriki returned his sidelong glance as Kuromaru settled down on his front paws before the bench they sat down on, lone ear perked back and just as interested by the answer.

"What, you didn't think I spent all my time pranking, did you? I mean, I had to develop _some_ skill to keep out of the ANBU's reaching hands and the other occasional threat around." Naruto evaded quickly.

Kiba sensed the lie at hand. "C'mon! What other threat's around that could bring a slacker like _you_ up to the skills you've been slinging around so casually the last few months? Huh?" his brash tone was apparently just as firm at eight as it was at twelve and beyond, but he seemed more curious than angry.

"... Promise not to tell your mom?" the jinchuriki asked. Kiba spared a flicker of attention down to Kuromaru before nodding his head, knowing how intelligent the partner dog was and hoping to have his own some day.

Naruto sighed theatrically before saying "You'll have to defeat me to find out!" and sliding off the bench, striding into the open land a few feet away and turning back toward him. _You're still way, way too young to know. And besides, unlike Sakura you'll definitely get the training you need along the way, Kiba._ he thought.

Kiba frowned. "No fair! You're way too fast for me to catch up to, and I don't even have Akamaru yet!" he complained. Naruto's eyes widened at the name. "A-akamaru?" he murmured back.

Kiba's eyebrows met together at the tone. "You think it's a bad name? I've been struggling to find a good one for once the new litter is born in a few months. Mom said I _might_ get a pup of my own soon!" his excitement over the possibility altered his tone quickly, and inside Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

_For a moment I thought he might have come back somehow too. Oh yeah, he's waiting on an answer!_ he thought before smiling. "It's a great name." he said, but anything else he might have had in mind vanished at the sight of a small figure moving rapidly across the landscape in leaps and bounds toward him.

Kuromaru stirred as the creature approached and Kiba turned toward it as well. Before the toad had even reached them Naruto recognized him, and his mouth grew dry at why Fukasaku was here alone. _Is Jiraiya hurt?_ he wondered. Within ten seconds the toad landed before him and settled in silence, looking Naruto over in consideration.

When Kiba made to approach Kuromaru reached up with a paw and shoved him back into the bench, whispering rapidly to stay put and shut up. Annoyed the young Inuzuka did as instructed and Naruto leaned down, eyes wide and concerned. "Toad-sama?" he asked softly.

Fukasaku frowned at the honorific and asked "Are you Naruto?" quietly. "Yes." he answered. "... " pausing to look over to the other two the toad turned and pointed at the Hokage Tower. "We've much to say, Naruto Namikaze. Come."

* * *

Two weeks after Jiraiya's death and at last his funeral was coming about. The stasis jutsu used by the Great Toad Sage had preserved his body long enough for that, at least, even though it also served to keep the wound that ran across his throat intact.

He was laid atop a bed of sunken stone a short distance away from where he had died, features set not in the agony of his wound and exhaustion but that of a distorted grimace, as though attempting to laugh away his pain and only partially succeeding.

Six burning staffs rested along either side of the body as the community of toads gathered around, and with them stood a handful of humans. The Hokage Sarutobi had a far more natural grimace set as he looked upon his former student with regret and sadness, outfit more in-tune with his battle clothing.

Beside Sarutobi stood his summons, Enma, silently regarding the fallen Sannin with crossed arms and a low scowl. On the other side a younger Shizune stood in place for Tsunade, who had been unwilling to come to yet another funeral for a loved friend, and though Shizune did not recognize him by memory she knew him on sight from the descriptions.

A single paper bird rested high in the air above the toad oil fountain and relayed the sight far across the distance to it's master, and so took notice of the unwanted cobra looking out from the ground on the edge of the area.

And perhaps most important of all stood a far more matured Naruto. His henge flickered around the edges from time to time as his body was racked by quiet sobs, and the tears ran freely and shamefully down his face. On the far left side the Great Toad Sage rested and motioned for them to speak what they would before the final ceremony was performed upon the body.

"You prevented much tragedy from occurring by this sacrifice, Jiraiya-san, though it would have made my heart ache so much less if only you had asked my aide before embarking on your final journey. I wish you had accepted the offer of Hokage so long ago, that you had lived to the fullest that could have yet come to pass... " closing his eyes Sarutobi turned and retreated some distance away, unable to face the body of his once-student any further.

Enma spoke firmly and surprisingly softly. "Well done, Jiraiya. You accomplished what should have been done several years ago." and with that walked over to Sarutobi's side again with a grim look.

Shizune looked around at the others and waited to see if one of them would speak up and at length contributed her piece to the funeral. "I, um, I and Tsunade-sama wish we could have been there for you, Jiraiya-sama. Her pain burns too much to see you off at last... please forgive her!" bowing her head she joined the other two.

Naruto stepped up closer to the body and dropped to his knees, whispering to his once teacher. "_I'm so sorry you had to pay this price, that it was _you _I had to lose to realize how serious life still is in the past... just as it was before, you gave me what I needed to survive and fight onward... and you've done it again, and you shouldn't have had to! I'm sorry Jiraiya, I'm so damn sorry I ever mentioned what I knew to you now!_" his voice was hoarse by the time he was done, and he bowed his head entirely and rested it against the stone before growing still.

Each of the toads paid their final respects to him in turn before it was time for Shima and Fukasaku to do so. "You died making sure this world was a better place. We don't often agree on something, but on this we do, Jiraiya- you finally succeeded without us. _If only the price of your victory hadn't been so high._" they each retreated to the Great Toad Sage's side.

At last he himself spoke. "You only had the time to raise two students, Jiraiya-san, and one is gone beyond our reach; the other nearly so as well. Your prophecy will yet hold true if given the chance... and the hope it bares is soon to shine. Rest in contentment." and with that spoken slowly and carefully as he felt out each word the further in he went, the toads gathered before the fountain were given the gesture to go ahead.

One by one each ran a small container down into the oil and carried it over to the sunken stone where it was slowly poured over his body. After three rounds his body was beginning to lose it's color yet not the shape.

By seven the gray had overcome all others entirely and the texture was beginning to shift as well, but at twelve pourings the effect had at last come to pass. Jiraiya of the Sannin, the Toad Sage, student, teacher, friend, foe, had become one with Mount Myoboku for ever as the only human to retain their natural form when turned into a statue through the sacred oil.

His burning shrine would never go out, no matter how the outside world was changed.

* * *

The trip back to Konoha was taken the long way around for Naruto and Shizune. Sarutobi opted to return through the one-week portal the smaller toads could utilize and returned, allowing his tiring Shadow Clone still in the hidden village of the leaf to relax at last and vanish.

For the first two weeks of the journey neither talked much. It was only as Shizune paused at a junction that would take her back to the town where Tsunade was resting at that Naruto spoke to her.

"Tell her I'm sorry. I never meant for Jiraiya to die so early... and that if she ever wants to know who to blame, I'm as much at fault for his death as Orochimaru was." he said quietly. She looked torn between asking what he was talking about and simply bolting.

"If she wants to know more than that... Tsunade will have to come to Konoha and ask me herself. I hope she never does... it'll be safer for her that way." he added in the silence that followed. The kunoichi's eyes narrowed at that.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" she questioned harshly. He paused in answering and looked her in the eye, an unwelcome expression of dismay on his face.

"... Protect her as dearly as you can, Shizune. Don't take chances, don't waste your life on something so worthless as a fight you can't win, just take her and _leave_, do you understand me? I won't lose another loved one to idiocy!" his voice rose in pitch as he carried on until he was finally shouting, and unconsciously the fox's dark red chakra began to gather around his back and shoulders.

Shizune blinked at his choice of words and he tore his vision away from the shocked expression, frustration rising. "_I won't get another go at this again_." he growled lowly before turning and shunshining as far as he could go over the landscape.

She was left staring as the dark red chakra gathered further around his body and eventually a low, piercing howl rang out from the direction he had been heading in. "What... what are you, Naruto Namikaze?" she whispered, bewildered.

* * *

About ten weeks since it began and the increase to their apprentice's chakra levels and physical stamina was very impressive, Kakashi considered, watching as the duo clashed again for the twentieth time in an hour.

No longer were they dealing with weighted backpacks and had instead progressed up to five and then ten pound weighted clothing. Sasuke alone at the time had an additional thirty pounds between his shirt, wrist bands and ankle bands, but it was Lee-san that progressed even further to the forty pounds marker.

The exercises, learning how to adjust their movements with the additional and more naturally placed weight would help them in combat situations down the road, and again as Sasuke bounded up a tree somewhat sloppily but easily to gain a better vantage point for going after his eternal rival from the air it made his sensei smile wryly beneath the mask.

_Soon. So soon it's making my skin crawl in anticipation, but soon you will be ready for the First Gate, Sasuke. And when your Sharingan awakens within you as well each new Gate that follows will push you to your limits as a shinobi._ Kakashi thought cautiously, aware how dangerous this plan was but knowing when it paid off the success would be worth every moment of pain.

**End Chapter Sixteen.**


	17. Chapter 17: Memories of the past

A/N: I wanted to say a firm thank you to everyone reading this fic. I never imagined it would do so well when the concept first came to me back at the end of May, and I'm delighted by how it's turned out!

Crystalzap/Vaughn Tyler: Aye.

Dragonist: One of the things I'm trying to do here is not merely center the story around Naruto and his exploits, but showcase things that might or should have been all around. Sasuke had the chance to become something different if molded right from a younger age, and will definitely continue to crop up over time as his character evolves and progresses.

Up to this point we've been getting into the feel of things and starting the wheels for the major changes to occur, and Naruto will definitely not be without foes as the chapters progress. Danzo most assuredly isn't done with even if he is no longer in the spot light for now, but I can't do much with Akatsuki in the current time frame either without shipping Naruto off to interfere and grab at their attention.

greywizard-dumblemort: You've raised some very good points, thank you. Glad to have been able to answer them in the PM :)

* * *

When Naruto arrived back within the edges of Konoha's boundary his form was once more that of a small boy again. Walking around in his older henge would have only driven unneeded questions toward him, and the last week or so he had done a fairly heavy amount of consideration over just what the hell he was doing, until finally settling on his realization that things had to change- within himself more than anything else.

_He's dead because you couldn't contain yourself. Old man Hokage warned us this was going to happen, but you charged ahead anyway and got him tangled up in a battle that couldn't be won without too great a cost._

He reflected on the events that lead to he and Yamato finding the former Toad Sage only a short time ago, roughly two months or so.

* * *

_Sipping from the glass in his hand again, Naruto's partially glassed over eyes scanned the locals in the latest bar wearily. How in the world had it taken them so long, through so many taverns scattered around three different towns, to locate one man? It wasn't exactly like Jiraiya was hard to spot if you knew where to look, but either the pervy sages memory was faltering by the time Naruto was taken under his wing in the old time line, or all this drinking was starting to get to him._

_Yamato spent most of his time staking the locations out since a stranger that could only communicate through wood-jutsus would hang around in people's thoughts for far longer than either of them wanted._

_So Naruto had the pleasure of working through each drink, asking the questions in one henge or another, and trying to keep from losing his concentration long enough to revert_. If we don't find him tonight, I'm giving up. Orochimaru can be dealt with down the road. _he thought with an unused to irritability._

_A slight flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye saw Naruto turning toward another table as a slightly woozy looking man with short silver hair and bland clothing blurred around the edges, revealing for a moment the outline of far longer braids and a flash of crimson, suppressing a hiccup. _

_Squinting as the blur evened out the jinchuriki carefully stood up and approached the other table. "_Whatta ya want?_" the silver haired man asked with a strong note of sluggishness in his tone. Naruto sat down and rested one hand in the palm of his hand, examining the older man carefully without answering._

_A frown creased the elders face and he leaned in closer. "_Whatta ya want_?__" he questioned again in a sharper tone, the hand not gripping his glass slipping beneath the table. Naruto nodded to himself and said in as crisp a tone as he could manage, "_Isn't that Tsunade and Shizune?_" and watched as the others features grew panicked for a moment as he looked around warily._

_"_Funny, brat. Who're you?_" Jiraiya demanded quietly when he looked back, finding the dull figure across from him had changed into a pale replicate of Minato himself. The hair was a little less defined and shorter cut, and his eyes looked the wrong color, not to mention he was shorter. _But a not bad imitation._ he thought to himself._

_"_Minato Namikaze's son._" Naruto answered. Jiraiya leaned back away from him, casting a critical eye over his features once again before delivering his response in two forms._

_"_Too old to be Naruto._" the Toad Sage denied as his hands grasped the table from the top and from the bottom before lifting it and slamming the edge into the others face, dropping it there and surprisingly efficiently shunshining away._

_A low groan came up from beneath it as he kicked the table off with blood running down the side of his face. "_Ow!_" he said and rolled slowly up to his feet, somewhat stunned by the response._

* * *

_An hour later and they found him snoring in a tree tucked between two houses. "_You want to get him or should I?_" Naruto asked. Yamato shrugged and put his hands together, bringing his wood releases to use... only to find nothing working. _

_After a few seconds of staring down in confusion they both discovered why when the area warped and wrapped them up tightly, shifting from a low covered alley with a tree to the throat of a massive toad. Jiraiya slowly stirred and glanced down at them from his position on the higher floor and blinked._

_"_Wow. You two idiots fell for it._" he said in surprise. "_Well. Time to consider what to do about that._" slipping down to their level he watched in amusement as the dark haired one gave the blond a sharp glance and grimaced._

_Sighing the blond closed his eyes and waited, concentrating. Jiraiya watched with a wary amusement, knowing that neither could break free once the toad had them wrapped up, especially taken unawares as they had been to both wander forward, but even still he gathered a degree of chakra to both hands and let it slowly swirl in the center of his palm without forming anything._

_After ten or so seconds a change occurred as orange highlights formed around the upper eye and his features shifted appropriately with it, the subtle hints of a toad cropping up in the structure of his bones. _What the hell?_ he asked silently when the eyes were opened into flat slits turned to the side, no longer blue but entirely golden._

_"_You recognize that I'm in Sage Mode, right_?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya stared harder at him and cast about himself for the signs of a genjutsu illusion, wariness doubled. "_What reason do I have to lie to you? I'm Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki's son, Naruto, you're my godfather Jiraiya, and I know you're trying to track down Orochimaru._" Naruto stated._

_"_That's impossible. You're far too old!_" the Toad Sage denied again. Naruto shrugged and gave it a moments thought, then answered him smugly._

_"_If I showed you a proper Rasengan will you hear us out?_" he asked. The other snorted softly, shaking his head._

_"_You're the idiot, not me, brat. Minato never taught that technique to anyone else and just seeing it observed isn't enough to replicate, but I'd never let you out to try regardless._" the older shinobi stated flatly._

_Naruto smiled and released his henge, shrinking down in size and rapidly pulling himself free before the bindings could adjust, and then calling up two Shadow Clones he utilized Oiroke no Jutsu in time to halt Jiraiya dead in his tracks._

_While the other shinobi was distracted by the cloth less clones the real Naruto summoned one more to help him pull up a Rasengan, waiting until the right moment before letting them fade out and displaying the swirling blue sphere an inch from his godfathers nose._

_It took several seconds before Jiraiya came back to himself and when he did he took in the child across from him more fully. "_Where the hell did a kid your age learn to create something like that?_" he demanded with a hint of reverence in his tone._

_"_The clones, dad's technique, or the Oiroke?_" Naruto questioned in turn. Jiraiya considered it a moment then shook his head again, not sure he really wanted to know._

* * *

_"_The future?_" Jiraiya questioned again flatly. Across from him, in a far more isolated section of forest, sat Naruto and the man he had learned was called Yamato. The small kid certainly had a confidence about himself that could be seen as irritable under the right light._

_"_Yes, the future! Roughly eight years or so. Orochimaru's not the only threat to Konoha, in fact Sasuke killed him a few years ago for me, but like I said I was caught between a pair of space-time jutsus in Sage Mode during a battle and woke up here!_" the jinchuriki stated._

_Jiraiya considered that, in addition to everything else he had seen so far. "_Say I believe you. What happens to me? Tsunade? And how the hell did you learn to access senjutsu chakra at this age?_" he asked._

_Naruto fell silent for a time at that. Jiraiya waited patiently for the answers, and at length with a sad sigh the boy answered him. "_You died in Amegakure trying to put a stop to Akatsuki's leaders. Nagato killed you._" he stated bluntly._

_The elder shinobi scowled and leaned back as though slapped. Continuing before his godfather could say anything Naruto added "_Tsunade took over as Godaime Hokage to replace Old man Hokage, but after your death Fukasaku brought me to Mount Myoboku to train as a Sage in your footsteps._" he said._

_Jiraiya pushed up to his feet. "_Nagato would never kill me._" he said flatly. Naruto looked him in the eye and rose as well._

_"_His life hasn't been easy since you left Amegakure! Yahiko's probably dead by now thanks to Hanzo and Danzo working together, but there's still time to do something about Nagato before he becomes fully emerged in his 'Pain' persona! You're the only person that he can trust enough to change his mind right now..._" trailing off at the end he paused and waited._

... Nagato would never kill me._ he thought again, looking upon the memories. But he couldn't deny the agony the small red haired shinobi had carried with him, no matter what he tried to do to avail it during their time together._

_Eventually Jiraiya sighed and sat back down. "_Keep talking, brat, and don't leave out anything of value. I plan to be around a good long time to come._" he stated firmly. Naruto glanced to Yamato for confirmation, but the former Root member gave a shrug, and summoned a small sheet of wood that read '_Your the one that wanted to recruit him.'

* * *

Shaking away the memories Naruto found his vision bluring for a few moments, and hastily rubbed his palm against his eyes to block out the tears now before it became another flood of emotion.

_C'mon, get a hold of yourself! I can't go around altering the past any more than I have been lately... especially not without consulting Old man Hokage. I should have listened to him earlier, and I damn well am from now on. I may not like what he has to say, but at least I'm going to hear what it is._ he decided as he found his feet coming to a halt on the edge of the village.

He recognized Kakashi-sensei's house eventually, having done a few of the crappy D-ranked missions around the area so long ago, and despite the sun only just starting to creep over the horizon activity within could be heard.

_What am I doing here?_ he asked himself. A distant memory of wanting to see how Sasuke was changing returned, but he shook it off. _Forget it. I've already altered things just be appearing here. Kakashi-sensei will make sure Sasuke doesn't stray off the right path... this time._ turning to go he spotted the lone eye of his future sensei watching him from a window all of a sudden.

Grimacing he waved a short greeting and carried on his way back toward the center of the village. There were a lot of things he had to go over with the Old man, especially concerning Ame now that he remembered what was looming in the years ahead.

Kakashi watched him go in curiosity. _What's Naruto Uzumaki doing here at this time in the morning?_ he thought idly until turning and taking note of the other two figures up so early. _Ah, there's Guy and Lee now. Good._ and like that, whatever thoughts he had on Minato's son were shelved for another time.

* * *

Far and away from Konoha and the Kazekage finishing inking his letter, the declaration of war against the hidden village of the leaf, for lack of recompense in the destruction of one of their landmarks and defensive properties, as well as the endangerment of their jinchuriki and biju.

He called Yura into the office and handed the letter over to his adviser. "Take this down to Danzo Shimura and make sure he understands the seriousness of his continual defiance in the face of the question and answer sessions. I've had enough of learning worthless tripe regarding Konoha's defenses and peoples! He has secrets I will know yet!" he ordered with his frustrations apparent.

The one-eyed shinobi nodded and answered, "Yes Kazekage-sama." before carefully rolling the parchment up into a scroll and departing down to the prison chambers. Left in the office the Kazekage turned his frustrations onto another source of irritation, his son Gaara.

True to his word the demon-child was training and sparring seriously. _Too_ seriously. Kankuro had been hospitalized in critical condition after their last encounter and he was beginning to develop a healthy paranoia about even being in the same room without at least two of the jounin as back up.

No one else was treated as such when Gaara trained against them, not even his sister- _Who I know for a damn well fact has tormented him just as often as Kankuro. Why the hell isn't she being treated the same way?I _he demanded of the desk his gaze fell upon.

He had no way of realizing just how different his children truly were when not within his presence or thought to be spied upon. Kankuro may have wanted to succeed his father in every way possible, including his treatment of their jinchuriki, but Temari still remembered the words of her mother and just what the Shukaku contained within her youngest brother was capable of.

* * *

Down in the prison Danzo stirred to life, looking upon the adviser to the Kazekage with silent disdain. "Here. He wants something of value for once, and I know he's willing to go through with it. Sucking back his pride to let those two Konohan's escape has been infuriating him every night." Yura told him.

Danzo merely nodded his head as his good eye looked the scroll over. "You know what to do." the former Root leader stated quietly. Yura swallowed and once more looked around for anyone else in this block of the chambers.

"Unlock the door, Yura, or do you wish me to reveal your allegiance to_ Sasori of the Red Sand_?" Danzo intoned the phrase that would force Yura to respond in the predefined manner. The traitor to Suna paled at the threat and drew out the key to the cell, and slowly henged into the other shinobi's form.

He unlocked the cuffs sinking into the walls that held Danzo with his arms across his chest and his fingers forced into iron gloves, legs restrained underneath the body.

Slowly the elder shinobi stood upright and stretched his weary muscles dearly, breathing a pale sigh of relief. "So much better. Now sit." he ordered Yura sharply, and as instructed he did so and settled the locks back into position as best he could. Danzo finished them and took the key from the lock, henging his body into that of Yura's once again.

This was hardly the first time the exchange had been done between them. Picking up the scroll from where Yura dropped it Danzo ascended back to the Kazekage's office and set to work laying the foundations once more for Suna's destruction, knowing that soon enough the Shukaku will be dealt with.

* * *

Sarutobi found Naruto leaning against his desk when he emerged into the office an hour after sunrise. "We need to talk." the boy stated tiredly. The Hokage quite agreed with that and sat down behind his desk, fingers steepled and a grimace in place at what was to come.

"So we do. It ends here, Naruto. I know you wished to change the world- and look around you. You've changed seven lives and ended three of them as well. I don't in particular enjoy those odds, where nearly half of those afflicted end up dead." the Hokage told him quietly.

Naruto pushed up to his feet and turned to look at him. "I know. I never meant for.. for what happened to him to take place. I just wanted him prepared for what was ahead, but I disregarded what you told me at the start. I didn't stop to think what he would do with that knowledge so soon." he agreed in an exhausted tone.

"Regardless of what you intended to occur, _Jiraiya is dead_, Naruto! Even if only one out of every several lives you alter, only one of the three that will die must be good, than what purpose is there in changing anything from it's path? Both Danzo Shimura and Orochimaru would have been killed in their own time frames without upsetting the natural chain of events!" Sarutobi stated sharply as his own frustrations became apparent.

Naruto took a few steps back at the emotion being conveyed by the Hokage and the force in his voice. That, more than anything else he had thought about or gone over since the funeral, shook him. The Old man had always been patient or at least to some degree understanding.

The closest he had grown to anger was during their occasional chat about events unfolding as they were, but this... was something _unpleasant_, something _new_, and something _he did not _want to look upon again.

"I'm sorry." he said sincerely, voice quiet. Sarutobi leaned back into his chair heavily, raising a hand to his eyes and rubbing at them in exhaustion as well.

"This can no longer go on. We have two choices available to us, Naruto... either you restrain your self and stay within Konoha until you succeed me in life, going only when your memories tell you that you must go forth, _changing nothing further_ than you already have... or I place a seal against all future knowledge you pertain." he stated with no emotion in his tone.

**End Chapter Seventeen.**


	18. Chapter 18: Failure with a gate

A/N: Firstly, my apologies for the month long break. I've had several different projects on hand including this one, and as I said in my profile pretty much none of them went anywhere from it. I finally got this chapter worked out more or less entirely today. It's shorter than preferred, but starting things off again.

Thanks for the reviews, Vaughn Tyler, tragicmat1, Lednacek, greywizard-dumblemort, TheBlueFoxtrot A Samba, beloveddaughteroftheking, Hanzo of the Salamander, and er.. EXpERieNCed? Kinda unsure about that review o.o, but still appreciated I think.

Lednacek: Haha, yes, true enough. Sarutobi's fairly concerned over all the changes cropping up and what might happen from it, and losing not one but two people he considered family hit him hard. Not to mention having two extra weeks to brood on the subject before Naruto showed up.

TheBlueFoxtrot A Samba: Nope, not his dimension any more. He's stuck in an alternative universe. As for Yamato, it's more a matter of losing his voicebox in the process of breaking Danzo's seal measures- I don't think even Sarutobi would go so far as to cut off his tongue just to gain information they'd gather from Naruto anyway more or less.

beloveddaughteroftheking: Aye, for now. Very well noticed on the origami.

Also, I usually don't do this but in case the idea has been missed(and I really can't tell that until the reviews say so since I'm seeing it from the inside point), Kakashi and Guy have been trying to get Sasuke and Lee ready for opening the Eight Gates, obviously starting off from the very first and going along over the years. That process has been in the works since about the point they started training together.

* * *

Naruto gulped at the intensity behind the Hokage's words. There was little doubt he meant what he said and was more than willing to follow through with it; this was the side of him that hadn't been shown in the old timeline, the rare shinobi side that had kept the older man alive and in office so long.

_But I can't just undo all the interactions I've had so far._ the jinchuriki thought after a few moments, and he set his shoulders and resolve. "I agree that I can't go changing things at the drop of a kunai any further, but it's still too late for me to just settle into position and try to follow my old memories." he argued quietly.

Sarutobi's eyebrows met in frustration but Naruto held up a hand in a placating gesture. "That doesn't mean I can't try to, but when something crops up that I think _has_ _to_ change, will you at least hear me out before saying no? Go over the pros and cons like when I first told you all this a couple of months back?" he asked.

Sarutobi remained silent as he considered the offer. He truly cared for the boy like his grandson, but he had raised three _other_ nin in a similar manner long ago, and two of them were now dead due to Naruto's actions.

Before he could give a decision Naruto spoke again with a little more tension in his voice, features descending into a frown. "What you said about Danzo and Orochimaru, that they'd fall in their own time in the natural chain of events... it wouldn't have happened here." he stated slowly, thoughts coming together.

The Hokage arched an eyebrow and waited to hear where this was going. "Sasuke was supposed to leave the village after the Chunin Exam invasion and join Orochimaru, and after a few years kill him on the way to reaching Itachi. He would have taken down Danzo only a short time later. But I think I've changed things enough at the start that he wouldn't have felt the need to chase after Itachi so soon and wouldn't have left the village." Naruto said in between several breaths.

_If I changed enough that Sasuke won't leave Konoha after the invasion than Orochimaru would have stayed alive for an unknown amount of years afterward, and without the threat posed by Sasuke succeeding the other shinobi so far Danzo wouldn't have gone in person to slay him. Kami! Is this why Jiraiya had to die just to kill Orochimaru? He had to alter his own fate to get a hold of the other mans?_ each thought ran together quickly and skipped ahead to the next point.

"If Sasuke wouldn't have faced the same events in the same way that would have taken him from the village than neither of them would have been killed later on at their respective times." he stated quietly.

Silence hung in the air after that for a time, with neither of them saying anything further though the Hokage's expression flickered around the edges from time to time and Naruto felt his weariness from the journey settling harder.

Finally Sarutobi sat back into his chair with a slowly released sigh. "The other members of the council have crossed the sensor seals. Go, before they have time to see you." the Hokage stated flatly. Naruto nodded tiredly and shunshined across the space to the cracked window and slipped outside, and not a moment too soon as the doors slid open to reveal Koharu and Homura.

Pasting a falsely cheerful expression to his face he waited to hear what the subject was _now_. As things turned out, not a pleasant one.

* * *

Once again Sasuke found himself in the hospital; though on his feet and standing _beside_ the bed, this time. The one actually within it was Lee, and the other boy certainly looked deserving of the rest he was in.

The Uchiha still wasn't sure exactly what had happened and neither of their senseis' had a word to spare about it. One minute the two apprentices' were locked in combat as usual for the last two weeks, rushing from tree to tree in the pre-dawn gloom and seeking out weak-spots in the other shinobi's form, clashing once and again... and then Lee's movements grew slower, his expression changed to one of pain, and he literally fell right out of the leaves to land on his side ten feet down.

Sasuke's surprise at the reaction left him stumbling but able to recover and after a moment he dropped down to check. It was too difficult to see in the shade what was happening to Lee's face and hands, but Kakashi-sensei had no problem and actually shouted at him to back off.

Lee's sensei had arrived almost as quickly to the scene and knelt down to examine the younger shinobi with a critical eye, murmuring to himself for a few seconds before stiffening. Kakashi-sensei had likewise gone still before nodding his head and saying something that meant little sense for the time being, "_It's not opening enough and it's not closing either, and his muscles can't stop altering with the change of flow._"

After that Lee was scooped up and taken to the hospital in a very remarkable pace, officially ending their training sessions for the foreseeable future, and after an hour of low rambling and notes of pain escaping from his mouth Lee was sedated to calm him down.

Which brought things to the present. Sasuke stood by watching in silence as his eternal rival rested uncomfortably, still giving off the occasional spasm and twitch from one part of his body or another, but both of their senseis' still stood on the other side of the bed watching.

Kakashi leaned over to Guy after another few minutes of silence and wearily flicked his hitai-ate back over his sharingan. In a soft tone he gave a report on the situation as best he could read it. "_Still not fully open, and he's burning through his reserves of energy quickly. If it doesn't sway one way or the other further in the next half an hour we're going to need to force it._" he stated warily.

Guy didn't spare him a glance but remained watching his pupil with concern. "_You may have been able to achieve it that way, but I've never met another gate user who did so and lived. Perhaps this truly _was_ too soon for such hope of talent to bloom._" he returned equally softly.

Kakashi grimaced. "_For once we agree on something. Even if he took in chakra injections like Sasuke did he'd just burn through it too swiftly, and I doubt he could handle any more strain like this if we did get the gate active._" he said.

Both men fell back into silence as they waited, while Sasuke finally questioned what was going on. Kakashi debated silently with himself of if it was worth answering so soon and finally gave a cop-out response.

"For now a technique Lee was building upon has collapsed. Its causing him internal damage and if it doesn't settle out soon, he may not survive. I have to stay here and keep an eye on the progress, and obviously Guy doesn't want to leave in case his student... takes a turn in either direction. It might be easier for you to go home and practice for a time, Sasuke, but your welcome to wait if you want to. I'm sure Lee would appreciate you standing by his side so far." he said slowly.

_There's something going on here..._ the youngest Uchiha thought with a flat look on his face. "If _you_ can't do something about it, what about the Hokage?" he asked in what seemed to be a logical manner.

Kakashi shrugged uncomfortably. "Of all the skills he has, this one is localized to a very few people." he answered aloud, though inwardly he wondered. _Would he be able to help stabilize the process? If this comes down to trying to forcibly draw open the rest of the gate or at least shunting it closed he may know a seal that could help._

Lee groaned on the bed and his eyes flickered open, straining against the bedsheets with a low moan of pain. Guy's expression darkened and he looked helplessly on for the moment as Kakashi shoved the hitai-ate out of the way and rapidly ran his sharingan along the boys system.

"Go- _seek him out quickly!_" his sensei ordered the Uchiha sharply, leaning over to look closer. "_Dammit, Guy, it's getting worse!_" he added to the other man. Sasuke swallowed at the sudden decline and jump into action before rushing out the room and heading toward the Hokage's office.

* * *

Not ten feet away from the front doors and Naruto heard the rapid pace of footsteps running over the landscape. Automatically his eyes were drawn to the sight of a small black haired child and recognized him after a moment.

_What the hell is Sasuke doing at that pace?_ he thought in confusion, too tired to really consider anything, but not seeing Lee anywhere in sight as he had on occasion noticed before left the jinchuriki curious. It wasn't like Sasuke to run so sloppily, most of his movements focused solely on gaining speed.

_Uh-oh._ seeing what was about to happen before it did, Naruto suppressed a note of tiredness to shunshin forward and wrap one hand up into Sasuke's shirt just as the boy tripped over an oft-unseen pothole in the walkway.

Falling in a tangle of limbs the Uchiha pushed his way out of Naruto's relaxed grip with a low snarl. "_Get off, you idiot! Lee's in danger!_" slipping out from underneath the other boy he processed those words and watched Sasuke rush off again toward the doors of the tower.

Concern etched itself on his face and Naruto wondered just what was going on, following the heavy footprints in the sand back in the direction his future team-mate had been coming from and noticing the hospital nearby very quickly despite his weariness. That, coupled with the others words and haste, cemented the fact that somebody's fate was about to get mucked about with.

A moment later and he summed up his thoughts on the situation with the following succinct two-word sentence. "Aw, shit."

* * *

The sand before him swirled to life and caught the kunai in mid air, then gathered underneath his feet to throw him aside and dodge the heavy gust of wind coming from his fathers assigned teacher. The jounin grunted in distaste and slipped to another vantage point to aim from, reluctantly following the orders he had to go through on.

Gaara waited patiently, his pale eyes tracking the next steel blade when it finally came at him with a soft whoosh of air backing it. Unlike the others this and the next series of them that came forward were slowly building in wind chakra, which in turn meant swifter timing had to be applied to dodge without being cut.

Even with the pool of sand in the closed off training ground to work with he couldn't really call up a shield like the _monster_ inside of him kept trying to order, not without breaking a window and slowly trickling it in - and thereby forfeiting the match.

Every other week the training session was altered according to what his father considered of the jinchuriki's progress, and this time around he had to adjust to a far, far smaller force to utilize. As his father had said, "_You won't always be surrounded by this desert, Gaara, and when that time comes you'll have to rely on something else or something limited to keep you alive._"

His brief moment of recollection cost him a long but shallow wound - due in part to the sand armor he was wearing since the incident those months ago. Without it the damage probably would have been enough to cut through a number of arteries and left him bleeding out in pain.

Focusing back on the ugly looking shinobi as more wind-soaked kunai descended on his location Gaara rolled forward and brought up enough of a barrier to protect his exposed back for the time, waiting for the next whoosh to announce the coming assault.

* * *

Far and away in the hidden village of the Rain, Amegakure, the man revered as the shinobi god waited beneath the ever-present clouds. He had not personally attended Jiraiya-sans funeral, though Konan's viewing art had relayed the event within Mount Myoboku well enough.

The decision currently weighing down his mind rested on what to do about Orochimaru. The man had fled Akatsuki after trying to kill one of their newer members, Itachi Uchiha, and being sufficiently crushed for it.

That in and of itself did not matter to him, personally. It wasn't his choice to recruit the so-called _Sannin_, after all. No, what mattered were the secrets and wealth of knowledge the snake shinobi had stolen in the process.

And deep within, a small note of resentment ran that his old mentor Jiraiya had fallen to the traitor for nothing, bringing just one more moment of _pain_ to him. Killing Orochimaru wouldn't prevent what he had taken away from them from being in danger of revelation, not after their insights into how many traps and what-ifs he could prepare.

But maybe it would bring a little satisfaction to Jiraiya's memory, and perhaps that alone was worth going to the effort. And the thought of who to assign for that mission came easily once the decision was actively chosen.

**End Chapter 18.**


	19. Chapter 19: Friendships indanger

A/N: Wow. Over two months since the last update here. Time just slipped by so swiftly. My thanks go out to you all once more, especially for the patience. I hope the chapter is worth the wait. Oh; and we're about fourteen hits shy of _100'000_. Thank you so much, all of you.

* * *

"You're both _fools_. I would have expected better of Konoha's top Jounin' than to take this kind of gambit on a childs life." Sarutobi hissed through clenched teeth when he had arrived in the same room as the others.

Sasuke and Naruto followed the elder man in as Kakashi spared a glance in the Hokage's direction. "He wasn't supposed to react like this- do you think we care so little as that?" he demanded.

Sarutobi swallowed back his first response, and pushed the second away as well when he thought of the recent conversation with the jinchuriki nearest. He shouldered the Copy Ninja aside and examined Lee with just as much of a critical eye.

"Shelve it for later. What happened and whats your analysis?" he finally questioned. Shaking his head Kakashi looked down at the struggling gate inside.

"He doesn't have the mental focus or strength to thrust the first gate any further, but what _is _there won't let it shut again. His body is constantly trying to adjust to the slight variations it has to deal with as a result of the opening straining." he told the Hokage.

"I was aiming to booster his faculties with my Sharingan and hope it would guide him to forcing the gate the rest of the way, as it did my own in the past." he explained. Sarutobi exhaled harshly.

"Then do so. And if it fails, I will make sure he does not suffer any further." stepping back the older nin paused in the motions of a seal and waited, ready to go through with it the moment he was sure Lee would finish fading.

Without another word needed Kakashi stepped closer and focused, and then the Sharingan began spinning just as the boy entered convulsions. "Come on!" he demanded.

* * *

"How're you feeling?" Naruto asked him, six-weeks to the day after the initial incident. Lee tried to shrug.

"Wearisome. Pleased, but wearisome." he answered. "Guy-sensei has relaxed my training rather heavily, but I really don't feel any worse for it." he said. "I don't like this '_gate_', but I'm happy to have a skill the others don't." he smiled somewhat subdued at that.

Naruto nodded. "Pain is always a miserable but effective teacher, huh?" he returned the smile, and both laughed- Lee with the occasional shudder, Naruto without any real mirth.

Both Guy and Kakashi had been dragged to the Hokage's office after the hospital situation calmed and neither returned for a week. Once they had it was to a severely diminished training regiment for the two children until at least the age of eleven, and based on the relative emotions shown they were grateful just to still have apprentices to teach.

It still took Lee quite some time to be healthy enough for release from the hospital and while Sasuke never stopped his own forward progress, he made regular rounds during that first week to make sure his partner was alive and healing.

Then his new schedule arrived and he spent most of the free time keeping up with studies there, since it allowed both of them to be kept interested and talk.

Now he was taking advantage of Naruto being there to keep an eye on Lee to complete a couple of rounds around the village; whether or not he was supposed to, it was just stupid to regress so far and he wasn't about to give up on growing any stronger.

The sound of rapid thumps along the wall behind Lee's bed caught their attention and a hand suddenly appeared within the window, grabbing the lip and using it to pull another hand and a dark haired head inside.

"Thanks, Namikaze." Sasuke stated quietly. Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgment, still a little perturbed at hearing his father's name applied to himself.

"Good luck with your training in a few more days, Lee." he said to the other boy and stood up.

* * *

His feet soon delivered him to the simple training grounds where Sakura was to be found on any given day of late, currently in a spar with Kiba after his mother's schedule increased. She ducked his overlong swipe and took advantage of his hasty recovery step to tag him sharply in one shoulder; the move very similar to what Naruto often did to her.

He was steadily moving forward with life after the entire situation with Lee and Jiraiya, trying to live happily to honor the Toad Sage's memory and teachings. As such he returned to his duty of teaching Sakura taijutsu shortly after he returned to Konoha, and while that first two weeks were rough and unpleasant for all involved, today they had progressed and were generally tiresome but good.

As he watched the two of them reset, Kiba grumbling over the loss, he was satisfied at the stance she assumed. "Care for a breather?" he called down before they could begin. Kiba's eyes snapped up toward him in surprise and then he looked away again, embarrassed for some reason. Sakura merely nodded her head.

"We've been doing this for about twenty minutes." she told him when he approached.

"Really? You're getting better. The training is definitely helping!" he cheered. Kiba grumbled again beneath his breath. "Eh?" turning toward the younger boy he tilted his head to the side. "Whats up, Kiba?" he asked.

"..." "...?" "... Is it true?" breaking the silence Kiba finally asked the burning question raised in the wake of learning Naruto's real name was Namikaze.

_So his mother told him_._ Well, you were going to find out in time_. he thought before closing his eyes. "I believe I once challenged you to a match to learn stuff like that. Care to take me up on it? I wouldn't mind facing you both at once." he stated quietly.

Kiba let out a frustrated growl before nodding his head. "Gimme a minute to co-ordinate with her." he told the jinchuriki and then dragged Sakura off several feet. Naruto blinked at the strategic move and then hid a smile. _Good, he's learning partnership early_. _Before even Akamaru_.

A short time later and many whispered words exchanged between them and the duo came back, taking up stances to face him from nine and three o'clock. He slid into a comfortable pose of his own.

"Same rules as you two were training with, okay? A hit to my body counts as a fatal blow and thus your victory. Same on your end." he said and they nodded without breaking eye-contact. "Then... " pausing until he saw Kiba's toes dig in for traction, "go!"

Kiba surged forward first in a fair imitation of his families Passing Fang, while Sakura came at him from the side most likely to be dodged to. He ducked down to grip the earth for strength and threw himself straight into the air and over both younger nin.

Thus when he felt something nip sharply at his left shoulder he yelped and fell out of the air on his side, landing on grass heavily and knocking the wind from his lungs. Something yipped at his back before digging its tiny fangs in harder and Naruto realized how he had been duped.

"Good boy Akamaru!" Kiba called over to the furry yellow pup chewing a hole in his shirt. Another yip answered the boy. Naruto reached an arm around to grip it by the scruff of the neck and instead yelped again when the maw released his shoulder to latch onto the fleshy digits instead.

"Alright, alright, get 'em off!" Naruto ordered as he jumped to his feet and held the tail-wagging clan-pup out to Kiba. The boy had a feral-looking smile in place as he gently pried Akamaru's lips back and off, holding the dog against his chest proudly.

"Spit it out, then. _Is it true _that you're the Kyuubi?" Kiba demanded. Naruto scowled at him as the small incisions in his fingers healed over several seconds.

"What kind of a question is that?" he fired back.

"Hey! You said you'd answer, so out with it! Kuromaru told me but mom wouldn't confirm anything." Kiba responded.

"_No_, I Naruto Namikaze, am _not_ the Kyuubi. What kind of a memory does that dog have if it thinks sealing the fox in a child turns them_ into_ the biju?" Naruto questioned.

"Excuse me, hey!" Sakura interrupted. Both boys turned to face her. "Whats a Kyuubi? What are you even talking about?" she asked. Naruto's eyebrows rose and he grimaced in realization that another change was probably in the progress.

"Didn't your teachers cover that in recent history yet?" he asked her, and she shook her head. "And your parents probably wouldn't think a child should be forewarned to avoid the demon-fox's host, unlike a ninja family with predefined concepts on the matter." he stated. Kiba objected and was ignored.

"Fine, lets go find somewhere further secluded; say my apartment. Yamato-taicho could use the amusement." with that he turned and began the trek toward said location. Sharing a glance Sakura followed after him and asked Kiba in the meanwhile to fill her in on details.

* * *

"Huh. New orders, kiddo." A blue skinned nin in black cloak covered in red clouds declared to another man nearby as he reviewed the orders delivered by a paper crane.

"Hn." the singular note was all the response he was given, aside from something small swishing through the air and then the splash of liquid meeting liquid.

"I can tell you're excited, no need to shout so much." The first nin stated sarcastically, folding the paper up and tossing it onto the soon-to-be-alight body of the last known associate of Salamander Hanzo.

"Hm." his partner agreed. A moment later and he stepped back and the sudden hiss and pop of flesh igniting came from the black flames engulfing the body half-submerged in the lake they were all standing on.

His partner whistled appreciatively. "Remind me not to piss you off, huh?" he asked as he watched even the water itself evaporate into steam on contact. Soon the entirely lake would be consumed, and further still to the tiny houses dotting the edge nearby where the man's family had lived.

Only then would Amaterasu be satisfied and fade. "Come." turning away Itachi Uchiha began to shunshin across the dwindling surface and Kisame Hoshigaki gave chase only once the flames grew too near him.

In time they would be setting out to hunt down and skin a treacherous white snake.

* * *

"So that's it. Dad summoned the shinigami and thrust the fox is inside of me, where it's sulking as usual." he finished telling them. Yamato had discouraged him from revealing everything about that night, so he left off the more pertinent details; namely how Madara and his mother were involved, going only into the sacrifice of the fourth's life to activate the shinigami-jutsu.

"... Wow." Kiba finally said. "Uh... I think I better go." he said, looking at the clock for an excuse.

Naruto sighed. "I told you, _I'm_ not the fox. It's stuck behind a seal and can't break free unless I snap, and have you seen me snap and manifest it's chakra yet?" he asked sharply.

"..." "Fine, fine, flee in terror of the evil jinchuriki! Our friendship was nice while it lasted." turning away from him and Akamaru he stepped over to the door and opened it. "Hope you enjoyed the truth." he stated flatly.

Kiba frowned but didn't argue. He stopped just inside the doorway. "I... I'll see you at school." he paused and adjusted whatever he was about to say, then continued out.

Naruto watched him go. "Yeah." he finally said and shut the door. "What do you think, Sakura?" he asked her quietly, tiredly. She looked him over.

"Why do you care?" she asked him carefully, and at his bland look clarified. "I mean, about me? And Sasuke? And Lee? We've never even been nice to you before."

Naruto exhaled and shunshined back to the couch, surprising her with his speed. "I care because you're all my friends." he answered slowly. "I care because some day we'll all be working together in teams to defend this village from the threats lurking over the horizon, the numerable monsters great enough to push around the biju like toys. We each have to rely on the other, Sakura, and no one will stand at my side unless I work to earn it first." he told her.

After a few moments of silence she nodded her head. "Okay, then. I think you're going to need a good friend." she responded at last. "That attitude is just too grim." And he laughed.

* * *

Sand exploded as several kunai cut through the clone, and above the Jounin instructed to carry on with Gaara's progression sighed inaudibly. True, the boy was an able and willing student these days, but he also housed the Shukaku within. It would be all too satisfying to actually critically wound the jinchuriki.

But he wasn't fool enough to try that in a damn desert of all places. No, he remembered the last fool to try that was nearly killed and should have been for all the damage taken.

So he kept the wounds non-fatal but surely agony-inducing if they hit the true form of the boy. The sand swirled to life again and another like-ness of the dark haired jinchuriki gathered among the three of them, and then all four images dashed around to avoid his assault.

A bell nearby was rung by another servant and suddenly the Jounin found himself under return fire, as spear tips and shuriken of sand were launched from the four. They couldn't get off more than eight at a time but considering he was slinging nearly that many with just two hands, it was quite a ways to go weapon-wise.

After fifteen minutes and a couple of lucky shots the bell was rung again and Gaara returned to the defensive.

* * *

_Thunk_. _Swish-thunk_. _Swish-thunk_. Sasuke twisted two fingers and the kunai embedded in the wall was yanked backwards again, and in a few moments he drew his hand aside and slammed the blade into another position.

"Ah. You're getting quite well at that, Sasuke." the voice of his teacher said from the doorway. It carried the older nin's fatigue.

"Hm." unknowingly echoing his brother far off the Uchiha heir did not give any other response. His trust in the two adults was less after seeing what could happen when their training went sour, and then being told to slow down afterward did not make him much happier.

"I think you are strong enough to keep going. You know how to adjust your chakra level, how to tree-climb very accurately even in combat, and your swordsmanship skill is honing on a good curve. If you keep up the chakra threads at the same point you will be able to pluck an object from mid-air." Kakashi told him tiredly.

"I know you want to stay and keep an eye on Lee-kun some more, but the hospital is about to close for the night and he's nearly ready to be released. I'm happy to see your eternal-rivalry with him is so firmly set already, but even then you need to rest adequately on your own. I'll be keeping an eye on the border this time, but the book on your next step is waiting at home." he said, and still got little more than a hum in response.

"Sasuke..." trailing off he raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose in irritation. The boy had been like this for the last four or five weeks, and frankly he was running out of patience. He _wanted _the Uchiha to progress and grow stronger, not be held back any by any means.

But what was he to do? The Hokage had nearly demoted him, and being beaten into the ground by Enma as an adamantine staff certainly demonstrated the difference in skill and strength between the lot of them. Guy only just avoided the same fate for a few seconds longer.

After that it seemed the Hokage had relieved a source of highly pent-up stress and was far more willing to talk with them when they came to in the morning, and further discussion broke out over reasoning and what was to come.

He was _still_ sore in some places from that night. "Sasuke, what happened to Lee was an unfortunate mistake. Both Guy and myself overestimated his readiness to be treated like a Chunin, and yes that goes for you as well. The training path we had you two set on was meant to make you unequaled when you were officially Genin, and unstoppable come the Chunin Exams in several years. By the time you both graduated as Jounin we had hoped to have raised up successors to our names, shinobi fierce and skilled enough to overcome any obstacle in their path no matter how challenging it may be." he explained slowly, his voice though weary containing a hint of excitement even still.

"But the fact of the matter is that you _are_ just children. You can be trained but would have been broken if this carried on. In two years if you are still progression at this level then yes, we will return to the previous schedule. But not before that. Can you understand and accept that?" he finally asked.

The Uchiha turned to face him. "... Fine." he agreed quietly. "But I want to learn everything I can in that time frame, even if it can't be used for years to come. I want to be _ready_ to embrace that kind of skill." he added, and Kakashi let out a pleasant sigh.

"That's fine by me, too. I'll provide you the knowledge as I can. Now get home and get some rest." he instructed.

"Yes, sensei." picking up his pack and stuffing the books back in Sasuke climbed up the wall and dropped out of the window with a low thump.

* * *

"Not bad ryo, huh?" Kisame questioned as he divided up the money and stuffed his half of the bounty away. Itachi glanced at him as he pocketed the remainder and nodded once.

"Boy, you're a chatterbox today. Can't hardly hear my own thoughts." the blue-skinned nin stated, and at the further silence rolled his eyes. "Still hung up on the next mission?" he asked.

"... Orochimaru is not a man to underestimate. He still managed to counter Tsukiyomi for a few seconds and in that process nearly escaped. Keep your water jutsu active and at the ready for a moment's notice or less." Itachi clarified and warned.

Kisame scoffed. "Color me unimpressed. So he's resistant to mind-control; any nin worth his salt is." he stated.

Itachi glanced at him again and then nodded, pushing down the thought to give the taller man a taste of the Sharingan's power. "As you will. We have many locations ahead of us." quieting again the Uchiha set off to the west.

Kisame rolled his eyes again and released his hand from Samehada's hilt, having felt the brief killing intent in the red-eyed man across from him and prepared to respond in kind.

**End Chapter 19.**


	20. Chapter 20: An unexpected arrival

A/N: Many thanks to Hektols for reviewing every chapter :D That made my day to see.

aceinator: Ah. At the time I was writing that chapter I don't remember if we had yet learned how Minato's hiraishin worked, but that is something I need to take care of in the time ahead.

kagomefetish: Some things would be harder to duplicate or fake when it comes to memories, and the lack of the Kyuubi's chakra on display or being felt at all by Sarutobi, no venomous intent at all, were part of the reason he was convinced of the truth and allowed Naruto to try and explain things more fully.

Thanks Lunatic Pandora1 and Hanzo of the Salamander :)

Thank you also to those who added this story to your C2's, favorites, and alerts.

* * *

_Well, it had to happen sometime._ he thought as Ino glared furiously at the blond jinchuriki. Her expression showed a deep betrayal as well as mistrust of the boy and poor Sakura was caught in the middle of it.

On one hand she had just agreed to be his friend not a day and a half ago, but on the other she had known Ino for as long as she could remember. Time and distance trumps resolve, as it turns out. She scooted over to Ino with a sorry glance to Naruto and they began a harsh whispered conversation before the teacher strolled in and forced everyone to pay attention.

The two of them kept it up as discreetly as they could through out the rest of class._ I wonder if this will be what breaks their friendship up 'til the Chuunin Exams? They don't exactly have Sasuke to swoon over at this point and I doubt he'd care if they did- getting Kakashi-sensei for a permanent teacher gives him as much free time as he wants these days._ Naruto thought slowly, working out the situation.

He didn't want those two to have any strife as Sakura could use the additional advice and tips from her friend, considering Ino at least came from a kunoichi line, and the way things were going Kiba's mom didn't have quite as much free time as she used to since he had been told to fill in for the next few days.

Sighing as the bell rang and they were still in deep conversation he looked around for and found Kiba eyeballing him from another corner. Akamaru yipped at him and Kiba hastily looked away to gather up his stuff. Naruto sighed again. _And that's one more fence to mend in time, but I doubt it'll change things over night. Give him a few weeks or something._

* * *

As he was to soon find out, Ino was bound and determined to put a stop to his 'vile corruption of my longest friend' and 'if you don't I'll... I'll get Chouji and Shikamaru to stop you!', as she had said later that day after class.

Sakura didn't show up for training either which meant that Ino had said much worse things to her if his future-teammates spirit was temporarily broken. _Okaaaaay... how do I resolve this? Do I even get tangled up in _trying_ to resolve this? Sakura _has_ to be able to defend herself emotionally as well as physically if she has any hope to become a proper kunoichi in time._ he thought carefully.

After a few more minutes of staring at the empty training field he finally decided she wasn't going to make a surprise appearance and he would be better off lobbing his concerns toward the only other adult he could go to at this point, seeing as the Hokage wasn't exactly on his friend list at the moment.

He scaled the outside wall as was becoming common nowadays and heard faint grunts emerging, along with the occasional thud or thump. Curiosity growing he slowed down and peaked in cautiously, only to find...

Yamato-taicho sitting with his back and shoulders taut, legs crossed as wooden pillars crawled up from his outstreched hands and settled down onto the floor a foot down. A hundred different windows dotted the surface of each pillar and they soon shaped themselves into a couple of different towers.

He noticed that smaller blocks were laid out beneath and around the towers and indeed, these too had windows and even doors. _He's recreating... Konoha?_ Naruto wondered. He had never seen the older man work such _art_ with his wood jutsu control, and it slowly dawned on him that that was exactly what Yamato-taicho was doing.

Practicing his skills and redefining his limits with them. In all their time together the jinchuriki had never once caught the man doing so, and in a way it felt like an awful intrusion into his privacy and peace. To disturb him now just felt wrong. His answers could wait for another time, when the older nin was expecting to deal with the jinchuriki.

Slowly Naruto crept back down the outside walls. He could always join Sasuke on a training run if nothing else to kill time, and it would let their own wary and tentatively growing friendship expand.

Yamato continued building Konoha a couple of structures at a time in miniature replica, even as he filed a note away to ask why Naruto didn't even stay to say something.

* * *

Kisame kicked down an old blood stained window that had managed to remain standing upright, nose crinkled at the smell coming from the still unfinished decaying corpse of the giant snake nearby.

Somehow Itachi kept his features blank, though the younger man rarely showed his emotions in the eight odd months they had been working together. "He ain't here and hasn't been for awhile, kiddo. Where next?" the shark skinned man asked.

The Uchiha flicked his eyes over the scene another few times before nodding to himself a fraction. "We head to the Land of Wind. Murmurs have his friendships extended toward the Hidden Village of the Sand." he stated quietly.

Kisame rubbed the bridge of his nose warily. "Look, I like sand about as much as any other Kiri-nin, but are you _sure_ Orochimaru has a viable base set up there or what? The last destination was as much a bust as this was." he argued, gripping Samehada by habbit. When he got irritable shinobi usually ended up gutted.

Itachi turned to face him. "If not to the Land of Wind, would you prefer we ventured toward the Land of Water? I would think a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were more resistant than this..." he trailed off, well aware of the insult within his words.

Kisame's eyes narrowed but he grinned widely. "About damn time I got a solid insult out of you. Eights months is a little slow for a member of our dysfunctional clan, isn't it?" he asked and chuckled.

Itachi didn't answer him directly. He turned and began to trek off and after another few moments his partner followed once more, considering how to earn another rise from the red-eyed Uchiha.

* * *

"You found _what_?" Sarutobi asked as he set the pen aside to look at the other two members of the Council. The distress on their own features convinced him that this wasn't going to be like the other unfortunate revelations that had shown up from the hidden Root chambers in recent weeks.

"A boy. Young, very young. He seemed to answer a summoning contract discovered behind another illusion seal in that place." Koharu explained with a noticiable strain to her voice. "He isn't the only one according to what he has said so far, but we can't find any indication of where or even how he was called here. The only name he answers to is the one on the tag around his neck." at that she turned and sat down in the nearest chair in silence.

Both of her fellow teammates watched the elder kunoichi with varying states of dismay. "... What is his name?" Sarutobi finally asked them in a carefully measured tone. _We're in for another long talk, Naruto. _he added silently.

Homura turned back to face the Hokage. "Sai. We gather that there are at least six children wherever he was being held, including the boy himself. He mentioned a brother distantly." and with that stated, the old shinobi's face turned postively menacing.

"The only other information he gave us is that of the description of the man in charge of where they were kept. Let me see if it jogs your memory, Hiruzen; thin and shoulder length black hair draping the face, sharp and challenging yellow eyes with purple facial markings running from the ends toward the flat nose, bleached and ragged skin." he stated.

It only took a couple of seconds for Sarutobi to realize who it was being implied to be, and he felt his sorrow and sickness toward his deceased student return once again in a sudden whirlwind of emotion.

That emotion was only sent higher and further out of control by his teammates next words. "Sai says that man exploded into the rooms where they were at two nights ago and dragged his brother off without a word." slamming his hands to the desk, Homura leaned down to stare into his eyes.

"_Tell me you did not know he was still alive._" he demanded. Sarutobi stared back at him in silence as he tried to process the possible meaning. And then his face twisted into a convulsion of fury and barely controlled wrath.

An instant and several hand seals later he was on his feet and Enma answered the summons. "_Rush to Mount Myoboku and verify that Jiraiya did not sacrifice his life for nothing. I want to know that they found _two_ bodies at that battle scene. If... _he_ is still alive, follow every available lead you have to track down and ensure that his status is reversed._" it had been many a long year since Enma had heard the human across from him speak so severely and painstakeningly quietly.

With a short nod the summons departed for the open window and the Hokage turned back to face his other two teammates. "_Take me to this boy. I will verify his words in person._" he stated, and Homura could only nod his head in turn. It was good to see Sarutobi finally acting as he was supposed to for once in a long while. Koharu remained where she was out of emotional exhaustion.

* * *

Ibiki met him at the entrance to the interrogation chambers. "Kids clean, Hokage sir. As far as we can tell his mind was altered by genjutsu somewhere in the last year or two and as a result he doesn't even know anything about the outside world." he explained. "Who he really is, any potential parents or village, none of that is even in his mind anymore due to the effects."

Sarutobi's already grim expression did not alter at these words. "Let me examine him myself." he ordered, and Ibiki stepped back with raised hands in surrender toward the anger radiating off of the elder shinobi.

"Second room on the left." he said. A few moments later and the door was pushed open with more force than necessary.

Inside a small boy was seated at an iron table with his fingers splayed apart and kept separated by chakra suppressant rope that looped over the wrists to keep them held before him. His eyes displayed little of the surprise he felt but his body flinched at the anger engraved in every line of the old mans features and posture.

"This won't take more than a minute." Sarutobi told him with a carefully controlled tone at the reaction to his presence. _Don't take your anger out on the child._ he had to remind himself, and leaning over the table he looked into his eyes. "Do not look away; I intend to see what has taken place through your own memories." he instructed.

* * *

_Waking up in this cell in confusion._

_Being interrogated by a tall and unpleasant man._

_Watching his brother be dragged off by the man in charge of the building._

_Clashing swords with a shark toothed boy his senior and once more losing out after a water ninjutsu of some sort is used._

_Hiding behind a red haired girls back as another boy nearby is consumed in red chakra and rampages around violently._

_Shaking hands loosely with the white haired boy with tired and haunted eyes._

_Opening the box to find clear fluid in a bottle beside an ink brush and the small notepad beneath them._

_Standing victorious over the same red haired girl as a box is pressed into his hands by the newly bandaged and ill looking man._

* * *

Pulling back and away Sarutobi blinked a few times. _Far less detailing than Naruto's vision, but this boy- Sai, is just a child. Not quite as coherent as I would have preferred._ he thought and then reached down to snap the ropes holding Sai's fingers apart.

"Can you tell me who the other people in those memories were?" he asked. Sai simply stared back at him blankly, and with a frown the Hokage shook him by one shoulder. With a start the boy blinked quickly and looked around himself rapidly, features undisguisedly panicked.

"_I'm sorry, please don't put me back in Jugo's room!_" his voice hissed out between clenched teeth, searching the small room for the same man he had last seen only moments before. Sarutobi took a step back in surprise at first before leaning down and placing a hand to either shoulder, effectively forcing the child to look at him.

"I do not know who that is, but you are safe here, Sai. _Please listen to my voice_. You won't have to go back to wherever that place is." he told him quietly and firmly. Sai's breathing began to slow as he was forced to look up at the calmer face he did not recognize ever seeing before, and eventually he relaxed as the panic attack faded.

"Come. It is apparent that your youth has not been spent entirely pleasantly, and while there is little to be done for now I believe it possible to restore your memory of who you once were. Do you recognize the name Konoha?" he asked after gesturing for Sai to follow, and the child slowly did so with a weary expression on his face.

"I... think so. Yes. Shin came from that place." he responded tiredly.

At the door Ibiki watched them go with a questioning look in his eyes, and Sarutobi simply said as they passed that enough had been gathered for now. And then Sai threw another wrench into the mix by adding on to what he had said before. "And Anko-sensei too."

* * *

The two boys raced around the forest at a break neck pace, dashing up trees and rebounding off limbs rapidly. The blond had a grim smile plastered to his face as the dark haired boy rushed ahead again. _He's progressing so much better this time around than I could have expected. His dedication hasn't faded any but his thirst for Itachi's blood isn't quite as firmly set now that he has Lee for a training partner and friend._ Naruto thought and he was genuinely happy about it.

It seemed that enough had changed that Sasuke wouldn't run off at the first chance to slaughter his brother, but time could alter things further for good or ill. Their own friendship was definitely under developed but by and large superior to what it was at the same point in the old timeline. _Aah, that's the third marker. We're nearly at the end of the race._ and with that thought he focused chakra down into his soles again and kicked off harder to catch up.

Sasuke had sweat dripping off his hair as he pushed himself. A part of him regretted accepting the challenge since it felt like he was leaving Lee behind, but on the other hand he was just as exhilarated to finally, _finally_, be pushing his limits again. Somehow and one way or another the blond idiot behind him had progressed at a sharp pace in all areas, if their tentative spar had proven anything beforehand.

A crack came from roughly a foot behind and Sasuke risked a glance over one shoulder quickly to see Naruto not only catching up, but rapidly gaining momentum. _Damn, that's the final marker! _recognizing the emblem etched into the tree in red ink next to his opponent the Uchiha gasped down another lungful of air and pushed his chakra even further into his legs to hold his lead.

Less than a hundred feet marked the start of the path and Sasuke could _feel_ the air being displaced by the other boy only scant inches away. Naruto pulled up beside him and looked into his opponents eyes, and the sight of the orange highlights and flat pupils over golden eyes reminded the Uchiha of the day he was healed. _I won't lose to you here!_ despite the fatigue settling in he found a small spark of energy to drive himself harder.

The next time they jumped a low thud hit the ground as the weighted back and chest plates were dropped. He caught the edge of a branch with his toes and kicked off harshly, drawing forward at least two inches without the increased resistance. _What? _Naruto thought as at the next jump two more weights slid free of the others wrists and Sasuke drew another half an inch toward victory.

Despite the sage chakra at his disposal Naruto couldn't move any harder or stronger without breaking the trees they were moving on.

As they neared Sasuke began to feel the burning of his lungs reach a fever pitch and his legs jarring with every harried leap and landing, chakra threads binding together like thin rope to reach out and take a hold of the next branch to draw him more accurately forward. At the edges of his vision darkness began to gather and the pounding of blood within his ears blocked out everything else until at last the spark of energy faded out.

In its place the world exploded into clarity. He could see the threads more sharply and clearly as they reached out from his fingertips, and as his knees bent for the next jump it almost seemed to take place in slow motion.

Then his feet slipped and he crashed to the ground painfully, knocking the air from his lungs as he rolled a dozen feet into open land. He barely heard the crack of a tree being punched through or the rush of wind accompanying Naruto's shunshin as the other boy landed at his side in a moment.

Each breath was agonizing, but above him Naruto smiled weakly. "Looks like your Sharingan finally decided to wake up."

**End Chapter Twenty.**


	21. Chapter 21: Preparations in Suna

**A/N:** It's been a long time, folks. It's taken me a while to sort through where to take the next chapter of the story, and how things should unfold. This one is shorter than I would like it to be, especially given that this is the _One Year Anniversary of Misplaced Timing_! I can hardly believe it's been so long already, and I've only managed to get twenty(one, now) chapters up.

**Thank you**, all of you, for your patience and dedication to this story. In a year, this is what the current stat page looks like: _154_ reviews, _129,190_ hits, _38_ C2s, _290_ Favorites, and _309_ Alerts. Every time I log in and see that it brings a smile to my face. Each and everyone of you are _awesome_! Now to the 21st chapter!_**  
**_

* * *

_Sharingan. _That word echoed in his mind through the haze that seemed to be taking up so much of his thinking capabilities at the moment, just struggling to get air back into his lungs, and after a few long moments he was able to focus on it and the strange sensation flowing through his body.

A hand gripped his own and slowly and effortlessly lifted him to his feet and helped him stand while he adjusted to it. "_Sasuke!_" the other boy's voice rang in his ears painfully and he brought his other hand up to his head, where the hazy feeling was being traded for a growing headache. Wearily he turned to look at the blond and stifled the note of surprise he received at the sight; at the boy's core, beneath all the chakra lines he could barely make out, stood _four_ different elements.

He could recognize the first two as probably being his different physical and spiritual chakra points, but the third tied directly into them seemed to hum to him in activity. He would have to ask Kakashi-sensei later what it was, once he thought of that, but it was the fourth and final of these that actually sent a chill down his spine.

Burning reddish-orange energy was both suppressed by and superseded each of these in how it was connected to his body, twisting violently in like thorn covered vines. As he stared at this the pain in his head grew, and he finally had to tear his vision away and look at something as common as the dirt to get some semblance of normality back.

"_Sasuke! Are you alright?_" the other boy's voice demanded more firmly and surprisingly clearly than before. The youngest Uchiha shook his head slowly, eyes closed to try and get control over his newly awoken dojutsu, and in a few seconds he felt the strain building up behind his eyelids and brain calm down and fade away. When he opened them again everything was back to normal, though his ears still felt like they were ringing when he heard the blond trying to talk to him.

"Gimme a minute..." He said wearily. _Careful. Concentrate..._ He thought to himself, and with a sharp exhalation felt the painfully intense clarity burn itself back into his vision. Everything he glanced at was enhanced beyond his imagination, and he was wary enough to avoid examining the boy next to him again.

Over the next minute or two he found he could will the Sharingan to activate and shut down again within only a couple of seconds. He had done it! At last, his families renowned dojutsu had arisen within him! As he thought that he heard Naruto pace the ground behind him again, only now realizing that he had been doing so and looked rather agitated since the fall.

_He helped. If it wasn't for what he said, for challenging me... I don't know when I would have unlocked the Sharingan._ He thought and found himself frowning. "Thanks... Naruto." He said somewhat awkwardly. It felt strange addressing him by name for once. Naruto turned to face him with a grimace.

"Are you alright?" He repeated his earlier words, concern quite apparent along with something else beneath it. Sasuke nodded despite the slight ache it induced.

"Yeah. I think I'm good to continue." the Uchiha answered. To his surprise Naruto's golden vision faded to it's natural blue and the orange highlights drifted away as well.

"I think now might be a good time to stop, seeing as Kakashi-se- er, well your teacher is rapidly making his way toward us. It was fun, Sasuke, and I'm glad you're fine." Naruto told him equally as awkwardly before kicking off and vanishing back into the trees they had raced through.

Sasuke watched him go somewhat nonplussed. Two seconds later and indeed Kakashi-sensei came to a steady stop next to him, expression tense. "Did you really awaken your Sharingan already, Sasuke?" He questioned in a tone of quiet reserve. The Uchiha turned to face him warily at that.

In answer to the questioning look he concentrated and felt his vision change over. The muscle twitches beneath the others mask showed what looked to be both a frown and than a smile occur almost simultaneously. "Amazing. Two Tomoe already." the elder shinobi stated softly, and it was definitely in a note of pride this time.

"This will change much of what I had planned for you to learn, and what you already know from the books can be picked up far earlier. _This_ is why I pushed you so hard all this time, Sasuke, for _this moment _when you could step into your families power and truly begin progressing as a shinobi of this age." He told the child seriously.

"Does that mean I'll finally go back to how I was training before?" Sasuke asked him partly in expectation and partly in further unease at leaving Lee behind.

As if sensing the slight turmoil his teacher grew silent and reeled in his own weary excitement. "No. No, not yet at least. I want you to perfect what you already know and have been practicing before we take such a step forward again. I won't go back on my word to give you knowledge, Sasuke, but _now_ I will have to choose what I give to you more carefully. Your body can only create so much chakra at this age and you will _have to be_ older with a larger reservoir of it before I can provide anything too extensive, too exhaustive." He explained.

The Uchiha managed to mask his own mixed feelings toward that somewhat successfully. "Alright. I can accept that." He responded quietly.

* * *

Two different Suna Jounin slipped inside of the open windows of the Kazekage's office and greeted him swiftly and efficiently. "Kazekage-sama, we have word of two men approaching rapidly across the sands toward our canyon entrance!" the first of them intoned rapidly afterward.

He sat up in his seat a little straighter. "Identifying features?" He demanded.

"Black cloaks are the limit to what we could manage to see, Kazekage-sama. Nothing else is visible through the sandstorm, and our sensor seals failed to register the degree of strength." answered the nearest. "We have left an advanced squadron in position with the authority to neutralize the threat should it carry on into Suna itself, sir, given the results from last time." He explained carefully.

As expected the Kazekage's eyes narrowed, both at the reminder and the brief superseding of his authority, but he nodded once. "Return and flank the entrance. Remember to keep up your genjutsu precaution's this time." He ordered. They both saluted and fled back the way they had come, while he himself rose from behind his desk and began the short trek down to the training chambers his youngest son and daughter were currently occupying.

"Konoha has struck my village twice to near ruinous effect. I think it time I use the currently available resources to do something about their third assault." He said aloud. On the way down he found Yura on the way up. "I was about to send someone to find you, Yura. Gather my son and meet me at the prison cells." He stated.

The lesser shinobi blinked in surprise and then turned back the way he had come, pausing only to give a bow of his head. "As you command, Kazekage-sama." He said and hurried along. Ten minutes later and everyone was gathered where they were expected. Danzo blinked up at the lot of Suna nin wearily.

"I have little to tell you." He said as usual. The Kazekage nodded irritably before gesturing to the red haired jinchuriki nearby.

"Than today we are fortunate, Danzo Shimura. I have little to tell _you_, save that this will be the last day you remain in chains- be them physical or spiritually binding. Before dusk breaks on this day you will be free of the mortal coil." and here, having said that, he turned to face Gaara. The boy looked back at him warily.

"You have been training better than I could have ever hoped, my child. Today you will be accepted into the traditional rank of genin with the other village shinobi if you execute this man, proving you are capable enough to follow my orders." He said with less gruffness than the jinchuriki had ever heard from him. It was by no means a kind tone, but given how his father used to speak to him, Gaara considered it as close to that as possible.

His eyes darkened as he turned to face the silent prisoner. He hated this man for what he had done, for what he had nearly accomplished. The One Tailed Shukaku within him even now stirred eagerly at the chance to avenge itself, and the sand grains along the floor began to hover into the air in anticipation.

For a moment the blond haired child he had fought with reappeared within his mind, and the words they had exchanged rose to the surface. If he did this now, he would truly be in control of his power and could never go back, could not claim the beast within was at fault as it had in the past. Then a whisper settled his mind, coming from someone rather unexpected.

Yura knelt down to the child and spoke to him quietly. "You will have to kill men like this when you are a fully functional chunin, and Jounin, and Kazekage of this village. It is righteous to end his life; look at how he suffers. You won't be murdering him, you will be euthanizing a sick beast already dying on it's own. End his life and spare the misery he would endure otherwise for untold years." the words stirred his resolve and shoved aside the guilt starting to make him doubt himself.

Gaara spared a quick glance between the three of them before focusing on the bound shinobi before him and, grimacing, directing more sand to rush down into the chamber and roar toward the prison cell. Danzo Shimura did not struggle, retrained as he was. He simply inhaled one long breath before he was entombed in a sphere of sand, and than grew silent once more save for the crunch of bone crumbling.

The jinchuriki stumbled backward after a few moments when he could feel no further resistance and turned away from the unwelcome sight waiting once the rubied-sand departed. His father placed a welcoming hand to his shoulder. "I accept your resolve, Gaara my son. You are ready to serve this village as a proud chunin." He stated firmly.

Gaara's confusion over the change in rank faded behind the slight feeling of sickness welling up in his stomach and the fact that he had actually made his father happy for once. "Now come, and let us defend it once more from another threat already nearly upon us." the Kazekage continued.

* * *

Kisame yawned as he sat atop the bodies of wasted Suna shinobi, Samehada noisily slurping up spare chakra from the almost lifeless pile. Across from him and waiting next to the Kazekage's office desk itself stood Itachi. "So what do ya think happened here, kiddo?" the shark-skinned man asked his partner to waste time while they waited.

Itachi spared him a dull look. "An assault." He answered simply. Kisame shrugged at the simplicity of it.

"Too easy. Looks almost like Deidara had a field day on the front door." He shot back with a smirk at the Uchiha. As usual he got a hum of neither agreement or disagreement in response, and when pushed a little further finally offered up a sheet of paper waiting on the desk.

Kisame read it, then whistled. "Hah! Looks like Konoha's finally growing a pair, eh kiddo? Wouldn't have thought your old Hokage had it in him to send an assassination attempt at the Kazekage. _Maybe_ your trail actually has merit this time." He conceded and looked out the window toward the unending abyss of sand. Particles of it were _still_ caught in his fins and teeth irritably, not to mention the arid state of the environment.

Itachi stirred about a moment before the noise of movement nearby registered and his partner turned to face the main entrance with a too-wide grin, leveling his sword happily. A wall of sand erupted through not just the doorway but the windows as well to surround the duo shortly thereafter, cutting across the wide space.

It in turn found an equally oppressive barricade of water exploding into existence nearly as soon as it entered the room and, indeed, pushing back against the sand more powerfully than could be overcome despite the difference in preparation time. Walls of mud began forming as the immense sand coagulated together with the water and effectively sealed the room up, trapping both Itachi and Kisame within and keeping the others outside where they were.

Once the sand stopped coming Kisame closed his jaws and swallowed the last of his _Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave _back down into his gullet in satisfaction. The Uchiha gave him an appraising once over, and the shark-skinned nin smiled toothily in return. "I keep telling you I'm always prepared, and you keep doubting it." He said with more than a hint of smugness apparent.

Itachi nodded twice. "Let us find out who truly rules this village." He said quietly and gestured for his partner to strike at the mud blocking up the main opening. Kisame grumbled good naturedly about it as he approached and swung Samehada down in a shoulder to toe strike.

The mud was blown back so violently through the release of chakra from the blade in the moment of action that it tore apart the actual walls on either side of it and sent the majority of the material backwards violently. The shark-skinned nin shrugged and leaped through, and Itachi followed almost as soon with his left Sharingan spinning clearly in preparation to cast Tsukiyomi.

* * *

His breath slipped out sharply, almost painfully, as the final moments of the transference jutsu passed. The boy's body was not perfect, no, but it was _normal_; no rare kekkei-genkai to be lost if he used it, a basic mold through which he could shape himself again. Each of the others were inadequate to suit his needs at this point but they could yet be shaped given enough time.

His old body lay discarded like a diseased snake skin, a crumbling heap as the damage Jiraiya had inflicted upon it never faded. It had truly been torturous to live and travel as he had been forced to without access to any of his chakra, but as usual he endured and trekked forward as he always had and always would.

The only reason he was even able to survive the transfer process was because of his true form well below the surface, a bundle of chakra kept sealed away from the rest of his host form. If not for that than he would have been trapped for an unknown and potentially decades long, crippled form.

But now after months of misery he was _whole_again. The modifications to the boy's body could begin shortly, and then Otogakure's bloodline limit expansion would begin yet again. His satisfaction lasted only as long as it took for him to depart the subbasement laboratory and cross the small maze of corridors leading back up toward the surface chambers, where he found his only true student awaiting him nervously at the end of the hall.

"What happened while I was missing?" He asked her softly. Anko looked over her shoulder toward the doorway and bunker where the children were kept, and he followed her gaze before striding forward. Peering through the window inside the door he counted the myriad heads training as usual for the time frame and came up two short. The first was obviously the current host form, but the second was Danzo's chosen disciple, a mindless brat with a budding skill in ninjutsu and little else; the only other normal child that had been here on his once-partner's insistence.

Anko trailed after her mentor and kept back somewhat, as if concerned by what he would have to say. "Where is he?" Orochimaru asked her.

"Gone. Along with the seal-scroll to the ROOT base in Konoha. I think he might have been summoned." She told him carefully. Despite the form he was in the elder shinobi turned to give her a very withering stare, and she refined her previous statement. "The sensor seals lost track of his presence, and the door was untouched. The only option is that Shimura himself activated the summoning contract on his student. We'll have to send someone into Konoha itself again since the scroll to ROOT is gone with him." She explained.

"... Very well. In time. I do not care what Danzo does with his pet project, but he has never set foot outside of this complex and neither have I given him our location. Continue to monitor the other children; _fully this time_." He ordered softly. She nodded twice and stepped up against the door beside him, activating the seal along the outside where it lacked a handle before slipping inside.

Orochimaru watched her for a long moment before departing.

**End Chapter 21.**


	22. Chapter 22: Of chakra types

**A/N:**It's been a long time since the last update. I'd like to say I've been writing like crazy and building up the current chapter, but the truth of the matter is that I needed a little while away so that I could see the story path clearly again and pick up on the little things that needed to be worked on.

Hopefully this chapter has been worth the wait, and thank you all for over 300 favorites and story alerts apiece :D

* * *

The Kazekage felt his breath pause as the tidal wave of sand beneath his sons control came up against a literal wall of water in response, not only blocking it but actually pushing the sand back!

When the two forces settled into a thick mud his emotions screamed into conflicting results- should he lend aide with his own power, leave Gaara to continue trying, or step back and leave this battle, for it was apparent that anyone with the the ability to conjure up so much water in perhaps a second or two was not merely a Jounin but perhaps a fellow Kage-level ninjutsu specialist.

"Gaara, draw on more of the Shukaku's power." He ordered quickly after making up his mind, fingers tensed in the half-motions of the proper handseals just in-case he had to defend his life.

The child spared his father a worried look with hints of his illness at murdering Danzo still apparent in their depths and in the set of his mouth, but Gaara turned back to face the unexpected blockade of mud ahead and raised both of his hands with a thin slant to his lips, concentrating on just pulling sand together rather than forming it into one of the few serious techniques under his belt.

It chose to wrap around himself in defense a fraction of a second before the world exploded and deadly sludge crashed back into the three of them. A faint grunt of pain erupted from his fathers lips as a thin gold sheen appeared beneath the pile of mud that slammed into his ribcage, and though the Kazekage was pushed back a foot he managed to brace himself in time as well.

The only one truly injured was Yura, and he lay on the ground with a thin trickle of blood racing down from the side of his head, visible eye dull and almost glassy with unconsciousness. The left side of his body was caught beneath one of the larger spreads of mud.

While all of that was processing a blue and rough looking shinobi burst through the opening made in the wall of mud and a spine-filled blade whistled over a dozen times as it sank through the air toward the sphere of sand wrapped around Gaara.

It glanced aside as gold dust appeared and formed a narrow patch where the sword should have touched sand, and the Kazekage looked through black-rimmed eyes in furious anger. "Gaara! Release yourself fully!" he commanded, knowing that the Shukaku could be regenerated- his youngest son's broken and mangled form could not.

More gold bled into the air as the shinobi turned his attention away from the sphere and launched across the distance with a manic grin, twisting the sword in his hands as he shunshined forward. He slowed some up-close and found a gold-lined hand coming up to catch one of the spines in the blade, as the other twisted in further handseals.

A gold lance speared the other shinobi in the shoulder holding the weapon in the next couple of moments, but there was little to be done to defend fully against the wall of water that smashed the Kazekage in the throat and upper chest and very nearly ruined his windpipe, and he survived only with the help of the sudden gold sheen surrounding his neck and the releasing of the weapon with his other hand so that the resistance to the force pushed him backwards.

The blue skinned shinobi grimaced and reached back with one hand to touch the weapon in his backside, feeling blood and torn muscle as his good hand became slightly limp and angled downward.

"Well," he grunted and tossed the weapon somewhat weakly to the other hand, just as the spear exploded apart and locked over his mouth and nostrils as it solidified around the back of the head.

His eyes thinned in surprise as he looked over to see the Kazekage massaging his own neck warily, the other fingers splayed apart.

"Stand down or I kill you where you stand." The Kazekage ordered somewhat raspily, and when he lowered the hand at his neck a thick purple blotch marred the light skin painfully.

The intruder considered that as his oxygen began to deplete, then smiled unseen. He slammed the weapon to the floor and stepped back from it, leaning back against the other wall as if relaxed.

Warning sirens began to wail and on reflex an oval wall of gold a quarter of an inch thick spread around the Kazekage's body. He found out it was a futile effort when the kunai slipped behind it from beside his own body, cutting just below his neck in a thin stream of red, and he had enough time to flick his head over and raise one hand protectively in the hand-seals needed to send his gold running.

And then he saw no more, strangled beneath the weight of his own gold and oppressed by the sands of the Shukaku gone wild, trapped within Tsukuyomi's world properly.

Itachi stepped away from the shadows beside the slumped Kazekage, and turned to look as his partner gestured at the still-active gold device slowly killing him. They met each others cold gazes for a long moment before Itachi performed a fairly simple water ninjutsu and spat the small-tank's worth of water around the other man's neck- where his gill's began to breath in happily.

"He is the real Kazekage. We move on in our search." Itachi said quietly, rubbing the tiny bead of red near his left eye aside on the end of one finger and then carelessly spreading it over his cloak. Kisame nodded and walked back over to grip Samehada, and all the while the curious sphere of sand remained immobile and silent.

As they passed it again Kisami tapped the top of it with his sword and gestured, asking silently if they should carry or even destroy it. Itachi spared it a glance and shook his head no, and with that stepped out into the other halls. Kisami shrugged and followed, wondering when the hell the gold would crumble and, more seriously, how badly it was going to hurt to remove if it didn't.

* * *

Kakashi finished his rounds somewhere around mid-morning and managed to trudge up the pathway with the fatigue clear in his slouched posture. His eye and ears had remained vigilant toward the borders, but his mind had ran in completely different directions, and for once it wasn't merely toward his apprentice or eternal rivals apprentice either, but on the blond haired child who had been there when Sasuke awoke the Sharingan.

_Something has definitely changed in Naruto. I only caught a glimpse of his chakra, but the boy was twisted in ways that I haven't seen in... years. Dormant power from his parents is active and, if I'm not mistaken, that might very well include the Kyuubi's seal._ He had thought early on, and from there he mentally drew upon any sign, any mention from Sasuke about his relationship to Minato-sensei's son.

He was rather short on information to back up his growing concerns. _I may need to talk with him in person for once. I know Naruto from tracking the boy a few years back as my light-duty ANBU assignment between serious missions, and the way he has been reacting lately is definitely a completely new direction._

For a moment he thought that the negative attention might actually have gotten through to the boy, but then he dismissed it. Naruto was the kind of person who kept through with his intentions regardless of the outcome, as the last five years of his life firmly displayed.

For the rest of the shift he tried to reassess his opinion on Naruto and the tendencies observed every now and again since, and he definitely intended to keep an eye out in the future. It was as he approached his ramshackle dwelling that he noticed his apprentice pacing up and down the outside wall, thoughts equally consumed by questions and concerns.

A book was hanging loosely by his side with a pair of thin threads trailing from a loop in his shorts, and he pushed out the fingers on his right hand suddenly, then with the other hand drew a kunai from his hip-pouch and tossed it straight into the air. He waited roughly two seconds and twisted his right hand once more to send a set of growing chakra threads out to wrap along the length of the blade nearly to the tip before drawing it back toward his free hand.

Sasuke quickly flicked the threads loose and tried again, his face a mask of concentration, and repeated the gesture once more, and again succeeded, though obviously not to a degree that he could be happy with as he prepared to throw once more. "Sasuke," his teacher called out lightly to get the younger shinobi's attention, and sure enough the Uchiha bent his neck back to stare upside-down for a moment, then slid the kunai back into the pouch and released the flow of chakra to his fingers.

A moment later and he dropped to the ground with a soft _thump_ and stood back up again, nodding to the Jounin and waiting. Kakashi resumed his pace up to the house. "Lets talk inside, I can see you have about as much on your mind as I do right now." He said with only a hint of his weariness in the tone and stepped in, retreating for the kitchen and rummaging in the cupboards for a light breakfast.

Sasuke followed him in and stopped by the entry to the tiny space that was already mostly-preoccupied by his teacher, watching as a small pan was set atop the stove and filled with water. As the older shinobi worked he began to speak.

"I see you've already started to work on advancing your reactionary timing on distanced objects," he started the conversation lightly, "and I think it might help if you concentrated with two at a time after the first hour or so, regulating between your Sharingan and your natural sight for the times when you won't always have enough chakra to keep it running."

Sasuke nodded and answered in the sort lull that followed. "I already have it under control with my Sharingan." He said with a moderate note of satisfaction in his voice. Kakashi spared him a glance, then hummed softly to himself.

"I hoped to hear that. Well done, Sasuke," he said, honestly happy for his apprentice. "But I'd like to see a demonstration after this to see if I can catch any flaws." He added, and Sasuke agreed somewhat easily. He was nervous enough about what his teacher would say regarding the advancements he had already progressed through since the day before, but at the same hand a small degree of eagerness to prove himself as capable was there as well.

After pouring the last of the rice into the water Kakashi set a lid off-centered to let it simmer for awhile, and placing a hand over the back of his neck and rubbing it tiredly, he sat down on the stool nearby and turned to face his apprentice fully. "I'm sure you have some questions you'd like to ask, so go ahead." He offered after a moment.

Sasuke did have several of them on his mind, mostly regarding the ways the Sharingan enhanced everything about him to an almost painful degree, and the headaches and strain that accompanied it after too-long, but after managing to reach at least half an hour without such toward the onset of dawn, he was reminded of the question nagging at the back of his mind all throughout and decided to shelve the others for the moment in light of that one.

"How many paths can one have in their chakra system?" He asked, considering the four he had seen within Naruto yesterday. The Uchiha saw the wrinkles in the mask over his teachers face display a faint surprise, and realized he had chosen a good question to ask after all.

Kakashi in-turn considered that for a short time before deciding to test the waters and see if they were fishing in the same creek. "Depending on the nature manipulations one can learn to use, the available physical and spiritual energy can mix and divide itself a multitude of ways, as easily discernible to one with a Sharingan or Byakugan." He said.

Sasuke processed that, and on a level knew that it couldn't be all there was to his question. Naruto's chakra _might_ have splintered to show his wind nature, but that couldn't explain the reddish-orange thorn covered energy wrapped up into them that was almost sinister in the effect it left him feeling.

"Is it possible for other _types_ of chakra-creating-energy to exist beside just physical and spiritual?" he asked. Kakashi paused to attend to his breakfast and mull the question over, now more or less assured that they had indeed arrived on the same subject of discussion. He stirred the rice with the same kunai he had used to slit open the package and added so many spices to flavor it with, then answered.

"There do exist other energies beside the original, base physical and spiritual chakra. I've rarely encountered anyone who could use such, but you yourself should have met one of the most easily well known of the shinobi with one," he said, referring to Jiraiya. "While physical and spiritual energies are found as faint red or blue tones respectively, the green overtones of nature energy can be found interlocked beside them."

Sitting back down again he continued. "However... the next most prominent, a type all to its own and yet often irrevocably entwined at certain points, is the chakra possessed by the bijuu- the Tailed Beasts." He explained.

"I can't confirm it personally, but their chakra is different in color depending on how many tails the bijuu in question has to its name, usually corresponding to the tone of its flesh in some degree." He stopped there, not wanting to go any further and start mentioning jinchuriki or the ways in which the Tailed Beasts affected them to see if Sasuke would take the last step toward connecting Naruto to the Kyuubi's feral personality, but on the other hand knowing he would need to mention it before much longer just to keep Sasuke aware of the potential danger- even if Naruto turned out to be fine, their relationship with Suna and Kumogakure were rocky enough that the jinchuriki of those hidden villages could attack someday.

Sasuke's line of thought was close enough to his teachers concerns. After-all, the rumors spread easily, connecting Naruto to the attack of the Kyuubi nine years earlier, and those strange marks on his cheeks did look remarkably similar to whiskers. "What does it look like?" he finally asked.

Kakashi considered it- now was the moment he would have to decide. It didn't take him long. "Again, it depends on the Tailed Beast, but the aura it projects is easily distinguishable from normal chakra or nature chakra. And... it usually has appeared to be embedded to the others, when under the control of a human and subjugated to their will."

His apprentices eyes flickered with several emotions in rapid succession, and then he nodded. A moment later the rice began to boil over and they broke eye-contact, allowing the Uchiha to step back into the living room to think more over things. Kakashi allowed the conversation to fade with a concealed sigh. _It's up to Sasuke to figure out if he'll continue to keep the friendship with Naruto or not based off of this information. I still think it might be a good idea to check on Minato-sensei's son in person, though. _And with that thought he yawned wearily and drew the pot over to a bowl nearby._  
_

* * *

Sarutobi massaged his forehead over the left eye to try and mitigate the growing headache. Ever since Naruto's future self arrived in this past, the world had gone to chaos in little spiraling ways coupled up with the occasional tidal wave.

He hated to beat a dead horse, but Naruto's simple _presence_ seemed to be invoking change even if he tried to keep himself under wraps. Now the youngest and supposedly last Uchiha, and certainly one of the last two still loyal to the village, if Itachi's intentions hadn't been altered as well some how, had gained the usage of his blood-line limit.

That was in addition to the arrival of Sai, and the knowledge that Orochimaru's student, Anko-san, was still alive as well and helping to raise several other children under the Sannin's care. Sarutobi didn't know how much more his heart could endure- his breathing was becoming harder to grasp these last few days, and he rather doubted it was due to his pipe.

Doing anything hasty to Naruto like he had last threatened- and rather foolishly, if he cared to admit it to himself- wouldn't do anything to help the situation. The boy was a walking hurricane, and trying to limit the touch his winds had on the surrounding environment was useless unless he wanted to put Naruto in a genjutsu-induced slumber and seal the body away until the next Hokage was chosen.

_Even I have been changed. I shouldn't have been so swift to direct my emotions upon Sai-san, nor quite so brutal toward Kakashi and Guy those weeks ago._ He thought and rubbed harder at the lance of pain in his forehead, one hand drumming over the journal on his desk.

At last he opened his eyes and flicked through to the last entry, and then picking up his pen, began to write.

_The time is fast approaching to not only find, but actively secure, another successor to the role of Hokage. I intend to do as Naruto has foretold and send out a request to Tsunade, so that she may inherit the roll her grandfather once possessed not so very long before my own time._

_I have hope that the path Naruto has set Sasuke toward, when he learns the truth about his brothers roll and intentions, will be enough to prevent the madness of the Uchiha name to awaken just as the Sharingan now has. If it does not... will Naruto have the strength of heart to face a man who may yet become as-like to a brother or at least a close friend? _

_Given the losses he suffered at the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, __I may need to make sure he is capable and willing. That is a discussion for another time. If I can not claim Tsunade as our next Hokage, I will likely choose my own son, Asuma, rather he approves of the roll or not. Only time will tell..._

* * *

Sai blinked at the other students, looking around mildly. He had never been surrounded by so many others his own age, and they all looked as different from one another as his last group had. He missed Danzo-sama, and he still had the last gift from the elder shinobi with him, a small amount of chakra-saturating paper and special ink to work his ninjutsu through, and he unconsciously ran his fingers over the small pouch carrying them.

"Class, this is our newest student." The teacher said needlessly as every eye in the area was trained on the boy already. "Please greet Sai-san."

At roughly the same point that the teacher said the name, the blond haired child in the far back of the class seemed to come out of a daze or perhaps a daydream, and he mouthed the word silently in time to the rest of the students giving varying degrees of "Hi," "Hello!" and much of the same fare. A small pups voice contributed as well with a series of yips.

The only open space was near the same blond Sai noticed watching him intently, and rather reluctantly he approached, reminded of Suigetsu's piercing looks. The blond scooted further aside and, after a long moment, offered a hand.

Sai glanced down at the outstretched palm, then to his own, before patting the strange boy on the top of his fingers instead of shaking and promptly sat down. A blink of muddled confusion at the gesture was the response before the blond lowered his hand slowly and turned to face the teacher again, eyes wide even as he frowned.

Unknown to Sai, the boy silently made a note to find out how in the hell the youngest ROOT member had arrived in his class seven years early, then followed it up with wondering the rest of the class how to work this into the already filled schedule of things to handle.

* * *

"We part here," Itachi said almost tonelessly, halted at a crossroads the two Akatsuki men had come to. Kisame frowned beneath his gold mask and managed to pry it down beneath his nose a few centimeters, so that once the water jutsu collapsed when the Uchiha finally got far enough away he would still be able to breath.

He tapped Itachi on the shoulder, and his eyes seemed to convey the message just fine. A few moments later the gold around his face faded and Kisame relaxed to some degree, inside of the Uchiha's genjutsu. "Where're you going to?" the shark-skinned nin asked suspiciously.

Itachi met his gaze steadily. "I have a sidequest that needs fulfilling, so close to the borders of the Land of Fire." He answered. Kisame snorted and leaned on Samehada's hilt.

"Going to do something about this wild snake-hunt we've been wandering aimlessly through?" he questioned, still irritable about sand in places that should not be possible for it to slide into on his physical body. Itachi nodded wordlessly.

"How?" the other man continued. The Uchiha's eyes finally showed some degree of life, flashing crimson in the faint light of the genjutsu around them within Kisame's mind.

"The trail and traces of Orochimaru's chakra I have been using has finally ended. We have visited all known locations in recent times, presumably up to the last six months... save one. I intend to obtain a proper grasp of it again." He stated.

Kisame grumbled. "Fine. And while you do that, I'll be off to see if Hidan can saw his way through this ninjutsu." He answered, then shook himself and waited to return. Itachi spared him a wary look and suddenly they were back at the crossroads, the sphere of water around Kisami's gills and the mask of gold blocking his lower face.

"..." they stared at one another for a final moment, then nodded goodbye and split apart. Itachi flickered over the land to investigate the spy of Sasori's, suspected of late to be following the orders of Orochimaru. If that meant re-entering Konohagakure, than so be it.

**End Chapter Twenty-two.**


	23. Chapter 23: Return of an Uchiha

**A/N**: So much for that plan of action, huh? No excuse besides off-site activity keeping me busy and general lethargy thinking this over. I can hardly believe how successful the story still is after over a year(and with four months between updates, no less!). If the update schedule had played out as intended, we should have been in the thirties by now... but I think aiming for that kind of a pace might have dulled the characterizations and plot to a worse degree.

So _thank you_, _all_ _of you_, for continuing to wait it out and read this story. It honestly brings joy to me when I log in and see the results in the stats page. I hope the chapter is worth the wait!

* * *

It was nearly the middle of the afternoon when the second-oldest still living Uchiha set foot within his abandoned home village once more. The border guards hadn't even looked at him twice as he stepped through, their eyes glazing right over beneath the mind-crushingly-dull three days playing out within their heads, and his henged form looked the same as any other ANBU returning from duty- and one particular ANBU, of them all.

If necessary, he could have used one of the passwords the Hokage had given him at the time of the massacre that was preserved for spies returning from abroad, but he preferred not to alert Danzo and the Council of his arrival.

_However..._ he paused as a dewdrop of fluid ran down his cheek, and raised a hand just in time to catch the second as it spilled free of the lid. He stared for a moment before swiping them away and grimacing.

_The tole of Tsukuyomi's usage carries ever forward, slow and unrelenting,_ he thought grimly. _A years time, and bloody tears flow in the wake of activation._ He pushed the matter away as the first houses began to enter his line of sight, but it was there in the back, recalling the hidden text beneath the Uchiha grounds and the explanation of the Mangekyo's prowess and resultant costs.

He felt his feet slow again as a raven-haired youth appeared from the forest beside the farthest house, and beside him a bowl-cut-headed child in garish green shirt and shorts. In their hands a pair of tanto rested, and they charged one another with a respectable degree of skill, entering a flurry of lunges, parrying, twists, and in general superb athleticism.

It was obvious that one of them was better than the other, but only because of an intimate familiarity with the way the body dodged and weaved, having helped lend the subtle variances on the basics that were clearly improved upon over the last twelve months in his absence.

Threads of barely visible chakra whipped through the air and wrapped tautly about the other boys dominate hand, and with a jerk that pulled him forward and out of the guarded position, the free tanto slashed and came to a halt with roughly an inch of red dotting the tip where it had grazed the neck that far.

Itachi only realized he had stopped to watch when the respective Jounin, Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, dropped down out of the trees ahead to comment on the sparring session with the academy students. His heart throbbed tightly and painfully loudly in his ears at the sound of his brothers voice in response as it distantly carried down to him, and the look upon his face- calm, pleased, satisfied, _happy_.

_Move._ He ordered himself heavily and shoved the emotions rising to the surface to the same place at the back of his mind as he had the thoughts on his weeping Tsukuyomi, and he masked his expression back into one of neutrality as he detoured around the four figures ahead.

He had much more to discuss with the Hokage after he was done gutting Orochimaru's servant for answers, including how and why his brother had become able to develop genuine pleasure once more after the way they parted last.

* * *

Naruto ran a hand across his eyes tiredly. _Sai._ He thought warily, _knowing_ that this, however it had happened, was not something he could handle lightly. The problem was, Sakura was still on the ropes thanks to Ino's bickering, Kiba was avoiding him, he couldn't talk to Old man Sarutobi due to their last argumentative discussion, and _he_ was avoiding Sasuke and Lee ever since the other had finally drawn out the Sharingan- which meant yesterday, really.

He _had_ caught the inquisitive and, beneath that, fearful look that spread over the Uchiha's face when the other boy had looked upon his chakra coils. He didn't want to stir up _that_ wasps nest until he was well and truly sure of things between them.

Naruto had so many loose ends and ideas on how to patch them that the addition of _Sai_ of all things into the mix stopped him dead in his tracks, because of all the things he could have predicted happening, the arrival of the other boy seven years ahead of schedule had no rhyme or reason for occurring.

_Without Danzo to shape the ROOT here in Konoha, and with Orochimaru dead, did his destiny ultimately alter to accommodate the changes?_ He thought slowly, and not for the first time that afternoon.

_And if so, is it possible to establish the kind of connection needed to bring him out of the shell Danzo has already set into place?_ Thinking about it without having a solid idea in place wasn't helping.

He grimaced, and pushed off of the window ledge looking out over the streets and villagers below, rolling on impact with the ground in his usual manner before hopping back up. _There's no choice for it. Whatever Sai's future now holds, I can't try to alter it any further without a basis to start from... and that requires figuring out _how_ he showed up _now_._

Kicking off at a steady clip, Naruto set off for the one location he was sure to get some degree of answers- the ROOT base beneath the Hokage Monument. _And if I can't make a decision after that..._ his thoughts trailed off uncertainly, _then I'll have to swallow my emotions and leave it in Old man Sarutobi's hands._

* * *

When he opened his eyes, the Kazekage felt a steady throb of pain zigzagging back and forth along his jugular. His blood spilled slowly but steadily out of the trench between his fingers and from the gash left behind by the kunai resting on the floor beside his head, and he gasped down a breath heavily as the full realization of what had just happened occurred to him.

_Kiri..._ he thought through the haze of the genjutsu assault still plaguing his minds eye, and his expression hardened after a slow and tense moment.

His fingers pushed through the required hand-seals as a strip of thick gold dust wrapped around the wound in his throat, staunching any further bleed for the moment and allowing him to struggle up to his feet.

He stepped away from Yura's unconscious body and stumbled to the great ball of sand that contained his son, and he paused only a hesitant fraction to confirm it was solid and unharmed before shoving past it and back into his quarters.

His vision pitched to darkness around the edges and his next step faltered, but the thought that _this_ was how his final moments would be spent sent a surge of fury coursing through his veins to replace the missing blood, and a rush of adrenaline coursed forward to push him on.

He swept his hands around himself as his legs gave out and he collapsed to one knee, and a moment later various objects began to come together around his body.

The handwriting on the scroll beside him was sloppy and almost illiterate, but his message was clear in its intentions, carved as it was in his signature technique, and almost before it had even finished the Binding Cloth began to emerge from his desk and rush quickly toward his wound by the same.

He sank down to one hand as the other finished forcing his gold dust to his will, vision gone, breath choked, before he was bound from head to toe in the cloth and the last motion, a sealing tag, settled atop it.

Then his consciousness flickered away, essentially paused upon deaths own doorstep, a mummified near-corpse and a desperate message requesting the elder Chiyo's aide and the usage of her Mystical Palm Technique, once his children or surviving soldiers found them.

* * *

A knock on the Hokage's door preceded his secretary's voice. "Hokage-sama, you have a visitor," she called through. "Jounin Shirakumo, sir." She amended after another moment.

Sarutobi dropped his pen to the stack of paperwork before him and looked up. "Understood. Come in." He accepted

The door slid open and shut again as a man he knew did not exist stepped through, and approached his desk. At a few gestures the windows were blocked off and the sound-proofing seals activated- he _had_ learned from the 'precautions' of Danzo Shimura.

The shinobi wearing the Shirakumo disguise inclined his head and allowed flickers of his appearance to fade away- namely his _eyes_, and the scratched out forehead protector above them, and then the henge was firmly back into position once more.

"Hokage-sama," Itachi greeted quietly and with his usual respective tone. Sarutobi's lips turned upward in a pained smile.

"We may talk openly, Itachi-san. Much has transgressed since you performed your last mission within the village, and the ROOT no longer have the means to listen in." He stated.

The Uchiha glanced around them once, a precursory verification of what he had already noted and wondered about on the way up the tower, and noted that the Adamantine Staff was also missing from its usual position behind the desk.

Confirming their was no surveillance equipment available, he released the frontal-aspect of his henge while keeping his back, and the effect therein, to the doorway.

"What is your report?" Sarutobi asked without showing the concern and the degree of thoughts swirling around his head, only the greater age-lines and the slight hitch on each breath betraying the stress accumulating within him.

Itachi recognized that and decided to forgo any thoughts about his brother and the state of the village since he had relinquished his position in it. "The Akatsuki have eliminated Hanzo of the Salamander, and taken root within Amegakure as our base of operations. The last of Hanzo's supporters, comrades, friends, and family that are available have been eradicated, thus erasing his existence as a figure and reducing it to a threat of what-may-be, per the orders."

"For a time the Sannin Orochimaru was a part of our group- and is no more. He has betrayed the Akatsuki and become declared the next target of eradication, as given to myself and my partner, Kisame Hoshigaki of Kirigakure. To that end we have spread throughout Fire Country and found only decrepit ruins and months-old-traces of his presence."

"The last location we sought in was Sunagakure-" and here Itachi paused, noting that for the second time, his news seemed to be adding up to the distress visible in his leaders eyes and in the set of his face. _Is there truth to the report on the Kazekage's desk?_ He asked silently.

After a moment, the Hokage nodded and the look in his eyes seemed to turn toward further weariness, but he masked it behind the brim of his hat as he cast his gaze down to the papers before him.

"-and in the process confirmed that, whether Orochimaru has been there or not, it has been no less than several weeks prior. The border seemed to have been assaulted prior to our arrival, and the Kazekage was not present at his office when we finished subduing his Jounin. We were forced to finish him off upon arrival given the usage of the jinchuriki of that village against us." Itachi told him, and fell silent again.

"Is that all?" Sarutobi asked softly.

"It is possible the Kazekage was still alive at the time of our departing and for some hours afterward- he managed to place a binding jutsu around my partners form that was still active long after exiting Suna, and upon our split at the edge of the Land of Fire." He added.

The Hokage visibly sighed. "Thank you, Itachi. Your news does little to improve the weight of recent events, but it is better to bear them than be ignorant of what is happening so near," he said honestly. "But I assume you came here for more than that. There was no warning of your arrival at the gates."

Itachi inclined his head again. "I did not wish to give Danzo Shimura warning, Hokage-sama, for reasons we are both well aware of." He answered.

"... Yes. As I mentioned prior, there is no more reason to fear the ROOT or, in particular Danzo. I am afraid to say that he has rebelled, after a failure to claim Naruto Uzumaki for a servant. The Kyuubi's chakra manifested long enough to defend his life and alert us to the hidden base, and in doing so rather well declared the presence of the ROOT to almost all of Konoha." Sarutobi explained.

"He was right to flee rather than stand and risk the one-way trial I would have put him and his twisted personnel through, but that is neither here no there. I have heard a report that he attempted to spread into Suna and was promptly defeated, and reduced to a prisoner besides."

Itachi raised a hand, and the older shinobi fell silent.

"That is fortunate news, Hokage-sama. He is dead, if that was his fate before our arrival, for the cells contained only a single rent and crushed form surrounded in fresh blood. There was little else of value to be found within the Kazekage's domain," he amended his earlier report.

Sarutobi exhaled. "Very well. Then it is all the more likely that our village no longer has to fear the ROOT's existence." He carried on, "I must ask now if there is anything else you have to say, or wonder about, regarding Konoha?"

Sasuke's image flashed in his mind, but the more pressing matter of his hunt for Orochimaru took precidence, and he asked, "Do you know of Yakushi Kabuto?"

"Ah," Sarutobi reclined in his seat for the first time since they had begun talking. "Kabuto-san, the spy of two of the Akatsuki." He stated.

"It has been some time since he was apprehended by... _Jiraiya_, and turned over to our head of interrogation. It is possible he is still alive within the cells." His voice paused, and pressed on rather harder, over the name of his former student.

"... No matter. It will be impossible to carry on until Orochimaru shows himself once more." He said, and knelt to the ground as he had once done a year ago at the time of the massacre. He would have to return to Amegakure with the news of Yakushi Kabuto's loss, but there was one last place he was determined to check upon before that in order to satisfy Pein's orders, regarding his prior mission at any rate.

His brother's image appeared at the back of his mind a few moments later, but he pushed it down again; it was no longer his business to interfere in what Sasuke did with his life, and if the younger Uchiha gathered the resources to grow stronger and yet somehow attain joy to replace the sorrow... that was something he could overlook.

Their family name might yet regain some degree of honor without Sasuke consuming himself in the process, thirsting for strength in order to catch up. "Hokage-sama," he said in a tone of quiet conclusion, and then stood up.

He was almost to the door when the older shinobi decided to give him something to think about.

"Your brother's life is better than it ever was at the estate, Itachi," Sarutobi told him softly, having already expected something regarding the younger Uchiha to crop up during their meeting and not wishing to let the Itachi go without some idea of the changes invoked in Sasuke.

The lines around Itachi's eyes lessened for a moment, unseen, and he nodded in appreciation before resuming his henge in full and exiting.

* * *

It took him a bit of time to get through the training grounds and trace his path through the forest, trying to match up the months-old memory of his _kyuubinapping_ by Yamato and the arrival at the base of the Hokage Monument.

The illusion-passage was still there, and he stumbled through it after a short time of running his hands along the solid stone. "Ow." He stated needlessly after rubbing his nose gingerly, and looking ahead some ways.

He was surprised to see some of the ANBU were already looking around the place, though the fact that the giant hole top-side had been patched up a while ago meant they had to have gotten used to exploring it and neutralizing any traps left in place.

He honestly wasn't sure what he hoped to find here, but as the only remaining clue to Sai's arrival short of flat out asking the boy himself and possibly alienating him at this point, Naruto was willing to do a little scouting and see if there might be something useful.

"What are you doing here, brat?" Ibiki called out from one of the tunnels, having just emerged with a short notepad and pen.

Naruto shrugged harmlessly.

Ibiki frowned and pointed with the end of the pen back toward the entrance and exit of the area. "Scram, Namikaze. ANBU security-business-only in this place." He ordered, giving him a firm stare.

For a moment Naruto held his ground, as would be expected from him up until recent months, and then he reluctantly stepped out.

Ibiki muttered to himself afterward, "We have got to start posting a permanent watch on that kid, Fourth's son or no. I've already had one show up from no where, and I don't need to have another vanish back there!"

* * *

"Four bowls of Ramen, Teuchi-san," the blond jinchuriki requested several minutes later. He was no further ahead in figuring out what to do with Sai, but ignoring the boy and hoping he settled into Konoha somehow wasn't available as an option.

The man smiled brightly. "I was wondering when I'd see you again, Naruto!" He said pleasantly, scooping a bowl of already prepped and steaming ramen together and setting it down before his number one customer.

He was surprised to see the ryo for the meal was already on the table by the time he turned to serve it.

_Naruto never pays up front. In fact, he rarely pays at all!_ Frowning, he held on to the first bowl reluctantly. "Anything wrong, Naruto?" He asked.

The jinchuriki shrugged noncommittally, then decided to speak his mind regarding another subject. "Sakura-chan's already given up on our friendship, after a couple of days. I know the main reasons why, but I don't know how to change it. Kiba, too."

Teuchi silently breathed a sigh of relief and set the bowl down. "Well, what did you have in mind?" He asked.

Naruto paused to start in on the first bowl and give the subject some thought. _Ino's going to be a problem no matter what, but if I don't allow Sakura to resolve this on her own end and try to force the matter, she might just end up despising me for it as much as she did the first time around at this age._

_But if she thinks I'm not going to stop helping her with taijutsu, she's pretty well mistaken. In fact, I might be able to teach Kiba a thing or two he doesn't know at this point. Huh._

Swallowing thickly, he pushed the last mouthful in and set the forward, where it was picked up and filled again within moments. "I've got an idea. It might work and it might not, and I guess it depends on how I tackle the matter." He answered the older man's question before starting in on the next bowl.

_She _knows_ how skilled I am, and Kiba's mom isn't available all of the time, so she'll have to catch on that ignoring me is only going to be detrimental to her progress- plus, what happened to her words to change my outlook? Too grim, huh?_

He shook his head lightly. _Grim doesn't begin to describe it, Sakura._ _Madara's out there, and the worlds events are going to spiral into war all too soon. I've got to get you guys up to speed before... well before the Chuunin Exams. _

Before he knew it the second bowl was empty, and he blinked in surprise, having eaten mostly by rote. "Ah, thanks," he said as the third bowl was filled.

"So you have an plan of action then, Naruto?" Teuchi asked. The boy nodded.

"I'll have to get started on it tomorrow, but... then again, maybe today's as good as ever." He said, catching familiar voices a way off before he could even touch the steaming ramen. He slid back from the seat and looked out to see that Sai was being shown around the village by Shikamaru and Chouji, and the Nara was obviously unhappy about being dragged along.

Sai blinked and nodded and mostly kept his arms tucked close to his sides, staying just out of range of Chouji's welcoming-arm as he pointed various shops out, particularly those of food.

"Hey, Chouji! Sai, Shikamaru!" Naruto interrupted as they were about to pass the restaurant. Chouji paused and turned toward Ramen Ichiraku, noticing the blond haired boy standing there, and swallowed the lump in his throat due primarily from Ino's cattiness and general whining where her friendship with Sakura was concerned of late.

"And that's Ramen Ichiraku." He said after a moment.

Shikamaru sighed wearily and stepped over to the nearest seat, dropping down on it lazily and happy for the opportunity to stop walking. Choiji watched as his back-up and support abandoned him and swallowed again.

Sai stared at Naruto. "Ever had ramen?" He asked. Sai blinked.

"What is ramen?"

Naruto grimaced weakly and reached behind himself to grab the third bowl and offered it out to the future-ROOT member.

Seeing that they were effectively halted, the Akimichi accepted the inevitable and approached, herding Sai forward when he seemed hesitant to approach.

Slowly the other boy picked up the offered chopsticks sticking out of the bowl and drew a few noodles with them, eying the meal like a snapping eel. "What now?" He asked weakly, unable to take his gaze away.

"Er... you eat it?" Naruto offered. Sai managed a pained expression at the thought, and slowly lowered the noodles back into the bowl.

"I am full, thank you." He rejected the offer with one of his false-smiles in place. Reluctantly the jinchuriki accepted the denial for what it was and added it to the list of things about Sai he would have to try and change in the time ahead.

**End Chapter Twenty-three.**


	24. Chapter 24: A new Hokage on the horizon

**A/N**: Wow, great to see the feedback here hasn't waned in the slightest! From here on out, though, I plan to start increasing the overall length of each chapter. I think I owe you guys that much for the delays, and honestly, we really haven't had a whole lot take place in the shorter chapters.

This will probably be the last of 3k chapters, and hopefully in the future the 5k chapters will follow!

* * *

Situated outside of the Fire Daimyo's current residence stood a small barricade of simple, single room wooden huts, of which only six remained out of the original twelve. For several years now the remainder had been missing, torn down and used for scrap in the Daimyo's fireplace, or dismantled and put to usage for other necessary projects here and there.

Inside of just two of the remaining huts rested the only survivors of the failed coup d'etat, and currently the only members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja available, though new recruits were constantly being sought after in preparation to fill in the vacancies.

As the sun crept over the hills and bled across the valley where the Daimyo slept quite soundly and safely, Asuma Sarutobi stirred on his cot within the nearest hut and raised a hand against the crimson glare with a disgruntled expression at the awakening.

A low thump echoed off of the side of his hut as Chiriku signaled the change of shift, but in a change of their usual pace, he also walked into the doorway and spoke up. "Asuma, you've got a message waiting for you," the other man said.

One eye flickered open and stared at the outline of his friend. "Who..?" He asked tiredly.

The shinobi monk held out the carrier hawk clinging to his other arm in response. Pushing up onto one elbow and staring through half-lidded eyes, Asuma took in the birds appearance and the seal tag attached to the underside.

The Hokage's emblem rested on one corner of the tag, but it was the seal itself that caught his attention- all too rarely had he seen one that required a specific chakra to open, and he recognize this for what it was.

Swinging his legs over the edge of the cot Asuma stood up and reached forward to accept the hawk from Chiriku, wary of what his father had to say after all of this time, and brought out of whatever sleepfulness had remained as the talons dug into his sleeve tightly.

The other man stepped back and returned to his own hut to settle in and get some rest, knowing that Asuma would convey the message contained if it affected their duties.

Suffusing a small amount of chakra into his other hand, Asuma touched the seal to trigger it and then deftly caught the small scroll that was released, and stepped outside to read it properly.

What he read left his features set into a hard grimace.

'_My son, Asuma, the time has come to reconcile the words between you and I. For too long now a futile argument has driven you away from Konohagakure, and it is in light of recent events that I have come to see the error of prolonging this non-conflict any longer... I am dying, Asuma, and I do not know how much longer I can stand in the face of the shinigamis' looming presence. I have hope that you will return and allow us to discuss what must be done while there is still time. I will not lie and say that this has been easy, nor that I expect you to accept my words without some degree of bitterness, but for the sake of the village, I ask that you put it aside until all is said and done._'

* * *

_How much longer? How much longer? How much longer? _Gaara whispered to himself and to the One-tailed Shukaku, limbs held tight to his chest akin to the fetal position within the nigh-unbreakable, dense sphere of sand.

If he hadn't already been on the way toward developing a shielding technique before this, the Shukaku's survival instincts had certainly written the knowledge of it into his mind, and into his own instincts, then and there.

The only difference between the sphere he was held within and that of Danzo Shimura's execution an excruciating hour prior was that he could still breath, even if the pressure held his body otherwise exactly as it was.

The feeling of claustrophobia had never before scared him, but Gaara knew he could not endure this ghastly defensive measure for much more than another few minutes, and his silently repeated question, his mantra, was all that was allowing him to focus and keep from absolute panic.

_How much longer_?

* * *

Bleeding in several positions, Yura shambled over the sand and in between the houses that would lead him to the small fishing pond of the Honored Siblings. He had awoken some minutes ago with blood in his mouth and numerable injuries to his lower body from the impact, but none of them were so bad as to prevent him from fulfilling his duty to the Kazekage.

It was for that reason that he now held the gold-inscribed letter in one hand, limping forward at a pace he could maintain. With the rest of the Jounin of Suna executed by the two invaders, he was all that remained of their higher tier military- a military that now consisted of himself, a single jinchuriki chunin, and two not-yet-genins.

Relying on the retired elder kunoichi and her brother to rejoin their ranks would be asking for more than he could reasonably hope for, but giving some degree of aide was all that he required.

It took him close to fifteen more minutes of travel before he caught sight of them, and several thereafter before he could actually reach the two.

He sank down on his marginally good knee, bowed his head respectfully, and thrust the letter toward the two of them without a word, knowing it would do him no good to try and force their acknowledgement- they had made that quite clear eight or so years ago.

Aside from the breeze coming down over the pond, rustling their cloths here and there, only the soft exhalations of their breaths disturbed the silence as one minute passed into five, and then ten.

As close to half an hour approached Yura's posture began to sway precariously from blood loss, but his patience held on, and at last Ebizo inclined his head over one shoulder. The elder shinobi examined what his gaze beheld without comment, including the mangled, gold-scrawled message, before turning back.

Chiyo acknowledged his choice to give in to curiosity with a slight upturning of her lips, but her words were far less amused. "I told the Kazekage many years ago that his reliance upon the prior generation should have ended when he took his office. I do not believe he has received the meaning." She said.

Ebizo answered her. "In his haste to progress the next generation, he has come full circle and entered into a state requiring your aide once more."

Chiyo hummed once and sat up, craning her neck around. The sight of Yura's form did not disturb her, and she picked up the letter to read it.

By the time she was through a strange sort of energy seemed to gather behind her eyes, however, and she stood up with surprising agility for one of such advanced age.

"If Sunagakure can not stand firm from a foe so far away as Kirigakure, and if Konohagakure deems itself so self-assured as to assault our village from within, than perhaps it is time they were reminded of our side of the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars," she said firmly.

Her brother sighed. "Do not be so hasty this time, Chiyo," he warned her lightly. Without answering him she rolled the sheet up and tucked it into a pocket, then checked Yura for a pulse.

After a moment and a narrowing of the eyes she stepped past him, marching toward the Kazekages office to do the task that she had been requested of.

Yura dragged himself up to a sitting position, unable to smile even if his cheeks twitched toward the expression a fraction at a time.

* * *

A few days after establishing the beginning foundation with Sai at Ichiraku Ramen, and Naruto found himself looking up into the lone-visible eye of his future-teacher from the same bench he usually sat at while waiting to see if Sakura would pass through to continue their sparring sessions.

"Hatake-sama," he greeted the elder shinobi neutrally.

Kakashi nodded in return, saying, "Namikaze-kun."

A weak silence settled between them, until Naruto asked, "Does Old man Hokage want to see me about something?"

Kakashi shook his head no. "No, I was hoping to speak with you personally," he responded quietly.

"About Sasuke, right?" the jinchuriki stated, even if his tone sounded akin to a question.

"That would be part of it, yes. But there are other things- I knew your father and mother quite well in their time, and now that you are actively carrying his name..." trailing off and glancing down the path, he seemed almost embarrassed about something.

Naruto stood up with a nod. "I guess we should find a better place to discuss it than here, then," he said and began to stride off toward the other mans home some ways ahead. Kakashi frowned beneath his mask and followed, having expected more resistance.

The silence continued between them again with a heavier sense to it, and in time with a flick of his hitai-ate, the Copy Cat Ninja scanned Naruto's coils to confirm or deny one of his concerns.

Having the more advanced tomoe, he saw what Sasuke did not- the even blend between physical, spiritual, nature, and worst of all, tailed beast chakra. He could see the ways they bled together and mingled, giving a natural affinity for the wind release, and that the invasion of the Kyuubi's energy was not being rejected despite how it interwove among them like a spined tendril.

He saw the fact that Naruto's seal and the power flowing through it, while similar, was still all too different from the one that his mother had utilized, that there was far too much energy available to him than there should have been by any right, at this young of an age.

Above all, he saw that Naruto's natural chakra had not been superseded or usurped as he had first feared, and that for whatever reasons, he was able to keep it in check remarkably well- instead of spreading like an out of control weed through the rest of his coils and body, it remained securely wrapped up around the other chakras.

_The will of Uzushiogakure carries on,_ he thought, pleasantly surprised. _Naruto's inheritance from his parents seems to be giving him everything he needs to hold the Nine Tails from taking him over... for the moment. _

Pondering how best to approach the subject, he realized something else that stood out- nature chakra. Everything that he had heard about that area implied that it was required to be a Sage of the Toads, like the Sannin Jiraiya, before one could access it.

Yet Naruto had as much senjutsu chakra available to him as his natural physical and spiritual chakra.

Frowning silently, the only options that presented themselves to his problem was that, miraculously, the jinchuriki had been taught the art while with the Hokage at Mount Myoboku paying tribute to the deceased Sannin, or, that Minato had somehow done the same long ago and passed it on to his son.

Admittedly, stranger inheritances had been seen while abroad during his full-time ANBU days, and even a shred of senjutsu energy could have been nourished and grown given the chaotic events surrounding the jinchuriki's birth.

Before he knew it they had passed outside of the general Konohan housing areas and were approaching his own small home. Naruto finally slowed down and, spying a nearby log, dragged it over fairly easily and sat down on it facing the Jounin.

"What did you want to know, Hatake-sama?" He asked.

Kakashi knelt down to the ground so that they were on a similar eye level. "A few days ago, you were there when Sasuke brought his Sharingan to the surface- you helped quite a bit in motivating him, from what I saw and have been told."

Naruto nodded once.

"Namikaze-san... Naruto, to what degree have you been able to use the Nine Tails' corrupted chakra since Danzo Shimura attempted to execute you?" the Jounin asked, his voice concerned.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them up again, the pupils were slightly jagged as they dilated, showing a tense resolve within them, and a flicker of malevolent, bubbling orange energy began to materialize from his skin for half an inch.

Kakashi resisted the urge to reach for his nearest kunai with one hand, likewise checking the slight surge of lightning chakra that rushed to his other hands fingertips, as Naruto just sat there and watched him.

"We've been in contact, since that day. I think the most tails I've manifested are three, during that same fight. For the most part, I've been training on my own and with Yamato-taicho to subdue and curb the fox's natural bloodlust," the jinchuriki told him, half truths coming easier than expected. "Right now its stirring up a snit behind the cage, but I have no desire to harm you," he added, flexing his own fingers and the talons of chakra that wrapped around them.

The Copy Cat Ninja exhaled slowly, and with a tentative hand reached out to touch the shroud of energy, but Naruto leaned away and to the other side to avoid him. "The touch of it could burn you, Hatake-sama," Naruto warned him.

"Yes," he agreed after a moment, watching as the log Naruto sat on smoked slightly as if acid were gradually eating through it. "You have full control over yourself like this?" He asked.

"Aside from that aspect, I do," Naruto answered him honestly.

Despite the old anger Kakashi felt toward the bijuu for what it had cost the village, he felt nothing of that animosity toward the child before him even wrapped in the beginning of its appearance and tainted chakra, and he said, "Incredible. The next generation truly is remarkable."

An embarrassed smile spread over Naruto's face, and he closed his eyes again to concentrate.

"Wait-" Kakashi said abruptly.

Blinking his eyes back open Naruto did as instructed. He saw that the older shinobi's hitai-ate was out of the way again and the Sharingan eye he possessed was spinning rapidly as it roamed over his form, capturing the details of it to examine later on.

A few seconds later and he nodded, nudging the forehead protector back down and into the usual comfortable slant, and then Naruto continued. The energy faded away into thin air and when he opened his eyes again, the blue orbs were back to their usual natural shape and appearance.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," the Jounin said. "This has settled a concern that was on my mind recently. However, there are still other things I wished to talk with you about."

"Okay," Naruto agreed easily, still smiling.

"What do you know about senjutsu chakra?"

* * *

"What have you learned?" Nagato asked as the Uchiha entered the hidden village of the rain, Amegakure once more, and stepped into the building where they often met regarding orders.

Itachi inclined his head respectfully. "Wherever Orochimaru has fled to, it has become impossible to find him by his passage through the hidden villages, and what traces remained behind are old and unusable, Pein-sama." He answered truthfully.

"The Konohan spy of Sasori and, for a time, Orochimaru, has been captured and neutralized by the ANBU. Of what I learned, it would seem to be that these events occurred around the same point in time, when the Sannin clashed at Mount Myoboku."

Nagato stared out of the window overlooking his recently taken village in silence. "Is that why you abandoned Hoshigaki Kisame at the edge of the Land of Fire?" He questioned after nearly a minute.

"Yes, Pein-sama." The Uchiha answered.

"Join Kisame and prepare to set out again. This mission is not concluded until Orochimaru is eradicated. If you must join another village and ingratiate yourself into it in order to acquire enough information as to his whereabouts, do so." Nagato ordered with no room for debate.

Itachi nodded. "I have more information, Pein-sama," he said.

At Nagato's silence the Uchiha continued. "Danzo Shimura is dead." He stated.

Nagato looked away from the window and stared harshly into the other shinobi's crimson gaze, the purple rings of the Rinnegan glowing almost violently. "You lose one opponent and bring me empty statements regarding another." He said with a hard edge to his otherwise moderate tone.

Itachi met the superior man's restrained fury with his usual blank display of emotion. "Statements backed up by the information of the Hokage's office and our own first-hand observation, Pein-sama," he answered. "It is how I have learned the spy was captured in Konoha."

Outside dense thunderclouds began to gather, and fat raindrops swept over the building they were in. Nagato reigned in his anger, putting Yahiko's sacrifice that day back beneath layers of other memories, and the appearance of his eyes settled back into their usual level of intensity.

Without another word he returned to observing the window and the rising torrent spreading across the village from their meeting place, and Itachi inclined his head once more, murmuring a quiet "Pein-sama," in conclusion.

* * *

"Ah, Sarutobi-kun! What are you doing here so early?" The Fire Daimyo greeted one of his remaining bodyguards a few hours after dawn.

The breakfast laid out before him was mouthwatering, and yet Asuma felt nothing but a cold tension in his gut as he stood near the doorway, still holding his fathers letter.

"Something has come up, sir." He bit out after a moment. "I believe we will be traveling again within the next day or so."

The Daimyo's pleasant demeanor changed into a look of concern. "Oh dear. What makes you believe that?"

Asuma strode into the room properly and held the letter out to one of the servants, who in turn carried it over to his liege lord, and began to recite the message it contained for the highest-ranking man in all of Fire Country.

His face turned to a look of great distaste, and by the time the servant had finished, the Daimyo pushed his plate away with a scowl. "That is indeed unfortunate news, Sarutobi-kun. And, alas, you are correct." He said.

Then he shrugged, looking around the fine dominion around himself, and said, "But I was growing tired with this house, after all. A nice journey to Konoha once more will certainly brighten things up once more," he said.

Asuma's look made the other man grimace. "Yes, yes, a poor time for the opinion of an politician. You know I meant no disservice toward your father, Sarutobi-kun," the Daimyo added.

"I know," Asuma agreed.

"Very well! Let us depart within the hour. I have little here that is not likewise available elsewhere. Is the palanquin prepared?" the Daimyo asked the servant with the letter.

"Shortly, sir," said servant answered.

"Then go! Hiruzen is an old friend, and I would hate to arrive too late." He stated. After the servant hurried off to meet with the other few in the house and prepare the method of transportation, the Daimyo looked over toward his guardian.

"I trust that you and Chiriku-kun are likewise ready?" He asked. Asuma managed a rough smile, though it fell quite short of his eyes.

"We are, Daimyo-sama," he answered shortly. A nod dismissed him and Asuma departed the fine house to make the necessary plans of transport with his fellow shinobi.

**End Chapter Twenty-four.**


	25. Chapter 25: Toward tomorrow

**A/N**: Thank you for the feedback as ever, guys.

After six months and a day, I'm glad to present the next update to Misplaced Timing! Enjoy.

* * *

The journey from Konoha to Mount Myoboku took longer than Enma would have liked, as the sunrise of his eighteenth day since departure filled in the hazy sky surrounding the domain of the toads.

True, that was an impressive time considering that most of those who would travel the secret passageway were forced back to a month, save the most recent and unprecedented pace set by those attending Jiraiya's funeral not long ago, but he could not hold up to such a swift run _again_ without some degree of rest in between.

It was no result of his age, however; time had to be spent making sure that he was not walking right into a trap set by the traitor Sannin, to ensure that the passage had not been compromised and its protections sundered, should Orochimaru truly have lived.

And the further he traveled without encountering any danger, the more his anxiety rose, as much as his frustration that the man that had betrayed their village was quite probably still alive- his journey was more or less a technicality, and he knew in his old bones that Jiraiya had been sacrificed to no gain.

Eventually, however, as time passed without incident, he was forced to conclude that for whatever reasons, Orochimaru had _not_ attempted to sabotage the path or even attempt to trace the steps back into Konoha through it, which did not match his understanding of the rogue nin at all- surely he would have done _something_ after the death of his once teammate and eventual opponent.

_Unless the injuries sustained in the process were too much for even _him_ to easily recover from. More knowledge of that day _must_ be obtained, _he thought uneasily.

Within another hours time, Enma passed through the boundary truly marking the mountain retreat of the toads and stepped into the lush field warily, remembering quite well the lesson that many a shinobi and kunoichi could and _had _forgotten after a long trip; the end of a mission held as much a chance for danger as the rest of it.

Nevertheless, his caution was unfounded.

A pair of sentry toads stood watch and greeted him accordingly, if warmly. "Enma-sama!" "Enma-sama!" they repeated, rising up on their haunchs.

Normally he would have at least smiled at the honorific, but his mission's purpose drained him of any desire to do so, and he merely nodded once in either toad's direction before moving on to business.

"I have need of Fukasaku and Shima, at the least," he said firmly, arms hovering at his side as if unsure whether to cross them over his chest or not.

The nearest of the two frowned slightly at his reaction, but he turned to his other half and asked, "Are they still here? I thought the Two Great Sage Toad's were preparing to set forth again, but maybe they're still preparing with the Great Toad Sage beforehand?"

"They definitely haven't come this way, Enma-sama." The other confirmed.

Enma nodded again once and inclined his head in thanks, then quickly carried forward and began to navigate toward where the eldest toad resided.

In his wake, the sentry toads wondered idly what had brought the great monkey king forward alone.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, the Kazekage had worse bags beneath his eyes than usual. A wire of pain seemed to have been sewn into his throat, beneath the thick bandages surrounding it, if the stiffly layered material digging into his lower chin was any indication.

"Father!" Temari's voice reached his ears and seemed to come from somewhat farther away, as if down the hall rather than mere feet away.

The young kunoichi rose to her feet and then hesitated, unsure of if she should approach. He craned his neck and made to sit up- only to find that binding cloth was half-holding him to the bed.

He forced his features into a scowl, but when he opened his mouth to tell her to cut them, the wire in his throat stretched taut and ignited a rush of flames throughout every muscle in the radius, forcing him back down into the pillow with a strangled expression across his face.

Temari raced from the room and scurried up the hall until she came to the still ruined office where the incident had occurred some days before, finding the older kunoichi perusing the Konoha Invasion report once again.

Despite her deep concern, she had learned some measure of respect for how the venerable Chiyo-baasama and her stark temperament reacted when prodded. She bowed to the waist and then flicked her head back up after another long few moments without acknowledgement.

"I know, child, I know. He will be fine, provided he learns his place at a healers hands." The older woman stated somewhat acidically, still dismayed at being called upon in her retirement.

Temari exhaled slowly in relief, and began to thank her, when she suddenly asked, "Come here a moment, child, and give me your opinion on this subject."

Standing back up she approached curiously and looked inside of the folder held in the elder kunoichi's hands.

It detailed the invasion by the ANBU shinobi Danzo Shimura, of the Hidden Leaf, and his attempt at abduction of her youngest sibling, as well as the assault of two other presumed-Jounin shortly afterward.

All and all, it wasn't very detailed, but there were quotes from the meeting, damage estimates for what the invasion had and _would_ cost them in the years ahead, and several pages dedicated toward what her father and their former-shinobi had gathered in the months since from the captured nin's own mouth.

"I am of two minds regarding this information, and in particular the Sandaime Hokage's refusal to respond to our message regarding recouping our losses," the elder woman told her openly.

Temari blinked and her mouth slid open in surprise over the honest and, beyond that, rather lengthy sentence. "Chiyo-baasama?" she asked.

Their eyes met for a long moment.

"Considering that your father is ill-prepared to answer, and that fool-Jounin Yura remembers almost nothing of the last several weeks, I must inquire from the _next _most stable of our militant remnants for my own answers." Chiyo stated.

"But Gaara is of a higher position, and he was closer to our father at the time of both of the incidents," Temari protested quietly.

Chiyo _hmphed _loudly and dropped the folder back to the desk with a muffled thump.

"I said the next more _stable_, child. And your father had little enough right to make such a promotion without an official exam, no matter had proud he may be." Something in the older woman's voice displayed an underlying reason for her disapproval.

The young kunoichi looked away, hiding her frown.

"Now tell me, how serious was his intention to draw Konohagakure into a state of war over this? I know that our forces are far too depleted _now_ to allow for such an course of action, but that matter may be resolved in good time." Chiyo stated.

Temari glanced back down the hallway, where both of them could hear the Kazekage's bed shaking as he futilely attempted to sit up proper and stretch himself.

The subject she was being asked of could have terrible consequences for everyone involved, and the truth of it was that she did just not know for sure how he would choose.

He could bluster around from time to time and make sharp rhetoric with Yura, Kankuro, and herself, but despite his words, a certain sense of foreboding had always been reflected around his eyes, and for good reason- it was no secret within their own home that Sunagakure was struggling to gather enough of, well, _everything_.

Missions outside of the village had diminished over the last year, and affording enough food for the entire village often took away the lion's share of what profit they did turn.

Going to war against a more prosperous village like Konoha, if they could not strike so immediately and destructively as to end it almost before it had even begun... their own troops would likely starve within a week, and her brother was only just coming into his powers as a weapon of the village, to say nothing of what Iwagakure would do with the bulk of Suna's troops away.

Either her father would have to remain behind, or Gaara would, hampering their odds even further in this theoretical clash.

In short, unless they could repopulate their currently empty forces and train them even more harshly, and efficiently, to make up for the gap between their skills and strengths and that of Konoha's nin, and unless they could guarantee a truce of some-kind with Iwa, then any military strike against the larger hidden village would mean the death of Sunagakure.

Her expression as she thought must have given away more than Temari had expected, because the elder kunoichi tsked loudly in disappointment.

She had barely turned to face the other woman again when Chiyo-baasama spoke.

"Save your breath, child. And spend it training harder. See what you may do about your siblings condition." She dismissed her and settled down into the large chair to continue going over the status of the village.

Temari bowed again respectfully and retreated back down the hall to the infirmary, unable to quite meet her fathers harsh glare as the bed rattled again, and he made a choked noise of fury.

Across from him in another bed lay Gaara.

The red-haired jinchuriki had been close to comatose when he was broken free of the ball of sand surrounding his body, almost before the Kazekage had been tended to even, and he was still highly unresponsive.

Something about his eyes left an uncomfortable chill across her shoulders, however- they were ringed in black from his lack of proper sleep in two days, but his normally even gaze was... dark.

Empty, even.

She had seen more lively corpses-eyes in the recent few days.

Something was desperately wrong within his head, as if a part of himself had been lost within that dense sphere, and he had emerged hollow as a result.

Temari shivered at the thought.

* * *

"It isn't enough. _Why_ isn't it enough?" Orochimaru's voice echoed off of the table before him as he stared down into the microscope, and the samples of already fading twisted-chakra burning beneath its glass.

With his left hand he picked up the pen nearby and jotted down another failure in the list beside it.

Another failure, after so many _others_, and after so much time _lost_ just to get back into his main laboratory within Otogakure. The child showed incredible promise when his temper was flared, but when he was calm...

With a quiet hiss he slid the sample out and stood up from his hunched over position, pacing over to the door. A narrow window in the top allowed him to look out, and he watched as the child, Jugo, thrashed against the snakes Anko used to pin him down in the main sparring room.

His student flicked her gaze over to meet his as if sensing his presence, and she tilted her head just enough to indicate a query- did he need more again?

_There is something missing from my equation. I _know_ this chakra, yet it refuses to comply with my efforts, as if it were deliberately fighting against my efforts to gleam anything of value. _

A bare nod of his head confirmed her answer as he turned away.

_So many possibilities, laying right there within his system, and I can not grasp even _one_!_ Not for the first time since he had laid claim to a usable body again, Orochimaru's patience grew thinner than was usual, and he had to check the urge to maim someone.

And that reminded him of the cause for all of his trouble.

_Even now you manage to haunt me, Jiraiya._ _Dead beyond redemption, and_-

His thoughts were interrupted in mid-steam as the door opened and Anko stepped through, two of the snakes emerging from her coatsleeves carrying another flayed section of flesh-and-chakra on a kunai between their mouths, while the other six coiled tautly about the boy's body with enough force to nearly cut off his breath.

The snake Sannin turned to face her, and for a moment the killing intent he felt toward his former teammate engulfed her.

She swallowed dryly, and the snakes she held flinched back warily, doubling over themselves to shorten the distance. For another long moment his gaze bored into hers, and Anko inclined her head respectively, twitching with the urge to step back.

Normally she would not have feared his intentions, but it had been a long period so far since he had behaved... normally.

"Lessen your hold before you kill him and ruin the rest of my day, Anko-_chan_," he stated sharply as his eyes tracked over her head and into the previous room, where Jugo had shuddered violently and begun to regress.

Her eyes widened, more at the old-term of referral than his pitch, and then again at his message, and she looked over her shoulder to see what had happened.

"Oh!"

In an instant her hands formed the counter seals to council the ninjutsu, releasing the snake summons in a rush of smoke, and she barely had the presence of mind to recall the kunai with the sample attached to it.

By the time she had turned and dropped down low to reach for the weapon, Orochimaru had cut across the distance and done so himself, gripping the knife between the fingers of his left hand as though he intended to use it.

"O-Orochimaru-sama," she stammered nervously, bowing her head rather than risk meeting his stare again.

"_Go._ We will discuss this - _thoroughly -_ tonight." He ordered.

Anko kept her expression from a grimace as she rose, until the door had shut behind her, and then she checked to make sure that she truly _hadn't_ just murdered her mentor's prime test subject.

To her relief his chest heaved slowly, sucking down shallow gulps of air, even if his mind wandered unconsciously.

Behind the door Orochimaru stared down at the kunai, focused upon it, and the already-fading power it emanated.

He exhaled through clenched teeth and hastened back to the microscope, cursing the Toad Sage.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama," a quiet voice interrupted the older woman in mid-order, drawing a surly look from the famed slug princess and a grateful one from the bartender.

Dark hazel eyes glared from the bangs of blond hair halfway obscuring them and the heavy bags underscoring the matter, and Tsunade leaned over to find out what her student wanted _now_.

"_Whaat_?" she barked, keeping most of the drunken slosh out of her tone.

Shizune exhaled wearily and held up a small scroll she had found waiting on their windowsill a few minutes prior, still held by the courier bird. The last such message they had received had delivered news of Jiraiya-sama's death, and she felt a sense of foreboding over what _this_ _one_ would have to say.

She had yet to actually tell her mentor the words that Naruto Namikaze had spoken when they went their separate ways some time ago, not sure what to make of them, but she had been slowly whittling away at the meaning.

For that matter, she wasn't entirely sure why he had been at the funeral at all - so far as she knew, he was supposedly too young to have known the Toad Sage, despite his looks, and whatever he had said at the eulogy had been spoke of too quietly for her to catch.

Shaking her head a fraction to get her thoughts back on the present, Shizune offered the letter to her mentor and made sure the Hokage's seal was presented.

Tsunade glanced somewhat blerily at the emblem and then scowled something fierce down at it, flicking the object away like a meddlesome fly. "I've nothing more to say to or hear from Konohagakure, Shizune!" She stated lowly, slowly, and with a determined note of pain beneath it.

Her apprentice sighed. "But it could be import-" her words were cut off by Tsunade's fist cracking down on the bar, splitting the warn-down wood right down the middle beneath it, much to the protest of the bartender.

"_That village has cost me too many loved ones. Send it back._" She ordered her student, then turned her eye upon the man stammering about the repairs this would take. "And you, stuff it!"

Shizune bowed her head and turned to go, looking down at Tonton seated beside her master undisturbed by the noise. _Sometimes I envy you, Tonton,_ she thought with a sigh, then narrowed her eyes.

_Return it, she said, and that is what I'll do_, _but she never said it had to be unopened._

* * *

Naruto blinked, staring up at the Jounin. For a long moment he did just that, wondering why it would be brought up- he hadn't figured out the truth behind Sasuke's rapid recovery all those months back, had he? Surely Sasuke wouldn't have told him, or Lee for that matter, but a slip of the tongue perhaps...

"Er," he began, stalling for time. Kakashi tilted his head to the side.

"You _do_ know something of it, then," the Copy Cat Ninja said curiously.

_Oh, man. This isn't going to end well._

Closing his eyes and grinning like he used to when he really was just an eight year old kid so long ago, Naruto answered him, internally hoping the ruse would hold. "Ah, yeah, Hatake-sama. I learned something of it, with Old man Hokage," he lied.

Kakashi nodded. "I thought as much. But that doesn't explain something," he said.

"Ah?" Naruto asked, trying to keep a grimace off of his face, but for a moment he considered what the harm would be in telling the older shinobi the truth.

_He could die tomorrow, that's what!_ An irritated voice reminded him of what had happened to Jiraiya, and he swallowed at the thought of inadvertently killing another one of his teachers.

Kakashi tapped the seal over his stomach lightly and continued with where he had left off. "You may not know it, Naruto, but your chakra coils are definitely out of alignment. What all did you learn about senjutsu chakra with Hokage-sama?"

For another moment Naruto paused. "What do you mean they're out of alignment?" He asked, dropping the grin and blinking his eyes open again.

"You're filled with senjutsu chakra right now, just as you are with physical and spiritual. I don't know how long that has been the case, but it could be detrimental to your health in the long run. I'm surprised Hokage-sama did not warn you already."

Naruto glanced down to his stomach, as if he could see through the clothing and the flesh to the coils beneath, and he frowned deeply. "We never got around to that point of the discussion, Hatake-sama..." he trailed off and then stood up.

"But I think that now might be a good time to get a refresher over what we _did_ discuss about it. Thank you for the warning." He said slowly.

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask at the tone. "Of course," he stated, and stood up as well. "I don't know nearly as much about the subject as the Sannin, but if you've shown no adverse reactions in these recent months, than perhaps your body is already adjusting for the change."

Naruto nodded his head in thanks, and then took off at a moderate trot back toward the village proper.

The Jounin watched him go with another concern to replace those that had been settled, and as he turned to enter his house, he found his student standing just-inside the doorway and watching Naruto go with an equally concerned expression.

"I take it you heard what we were talking about, Sasuke?" He asked.

The Uchiha flicked his eyes over to his teachers and then nodded. "I haven't felt anything like that before," he said, referring to the shroud of chakra that had begun to engulf Naruto's body a few minutes prior.

"You should let him know that you know then, when the time is..." the Jounin trailed off after realizing what Sasuke had just said.

_If Naruto wasn't using the Kyuubi's chakra when he helped Sasuke to awaken the Sharingan, than what _was _he using? Surely he doesn't have the kind of control over senjutsu chakra to do so, at least not consciously?_

"What is it?" the Uchiha asked.

"Something else to consider. Tell me again about that race you and Namikaze-kun ran."

* * *

A knock at the door preceded Naruto's entrance to the Hokage's office, waiting until the old man had called out before stepping through. He was nervous enough about their last encounter to actually mind his behavior, something he had never truly felt he had to do in the Hokage's presence in the past.

"Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked in surprise.

"Old man Hokage," he nodded respectfully, not quite meeting the elder shinobi's eyes.

An uneasy silence filled the space as he stood there just past the doorway, each of them absorbed in their own thoughts and expectations regarding their next - now _current_ - meeting.

After a few more moments Sarutobi bowed his head enough to hide his eyes behind the hat, faux-scanning the paperwork he had been reviewing prior so that he could gather his words together.

Then he stood up, sighing, and placed the hat down on his desk. "Come here, Naruto." He said tiredly.

The jinchuriki felt a moment of cold dread flutter through his stomach at the tone, but more than that at the hat coming off. _This was a mistake,_ he thought, grimacing.

When the boy remained where he was, Sarutobi walked around to the front of his desk and reclined against it, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed, and then to massage the wrinkles in his forehead.

"Naruto-kun, I owe you an apology for the way we last spoke." He said, ignoring the hitch in his breath.

Naruto blinked, and the whirlwind of thoughts abruptly slowed.

"Huh?" He asked.

The Hokage opened his eyes and inclined his head.

"Jiraiya-san's loss, coupled with the thoughts that Orochimaru had also been killed, pushed me further than I would have expected. I snapped at you without any thought to my words, absorbed in the anguish of loss. You have my sincere apologies for threatening you in such a way."

The jinchuriki exhaled. "I'm sorry, too, Old man Hokage," he said truthfully.

"I blamed you for things you could not directly control, even if you did influence them. But more than that, I am afraid that Jiraiya's sacrifice was for nothing, Naruto."

The feeling of dread returned, as Naruto's eyebrows met together, and when the Hokage continued a bitter edge had taken over his tone.

"Orochimaru is still alive if not well, given Sai's words."

It took a moment for that to process.

Then Naruto stood up straight, and he crossed the distance separating them quickly.

"What do you mean he's alive? The toads as much as verified the death, didn't they?" He asked, but even as he spoke, he knew that they had not - there had been no mention of the snake Sannin's corpse, and everyone had assumed it was dealt with already by his fellow Sannin member before succumbing to his own wounds.

"Sai came from a village we are presuming to be Otogakure, Naruto. He described a man fitting Orochimaru's figure arriving two days before he himself vanished." The Hokage stated.

Anger that he had thought dealt with already bristled beneath the surface as the jinchuriki listened. "So that is why Ibiki turned me away from the old ROOT base. You're trying to figure out how to get back there and do something about this, right?" He asked.

Sarutobi nodded once. "_If _the path back to where Sai came from can be traced. I have already sent Enma back to Mount Myoboku to be sure we are not mistaken, but it is a foregone conclusion, and just a matter of ensuring the path between there and here is still safe for the toads to travel."

Naruto raised a hand to rub at his forehead just as the Hokage had done prior. "There's nothing I can do, is there?"

"Nothing more than I, Naruto. It is a lesson you should take to heart now, if you still desire to become Hokage in the future."

The jinchuriki nodded, stowing away the thoughts about the Sannin, and forced himself to focus upon one of the reasons for why he had come here to begin with.

"I wanted to ask you about Sai, Old man Hokage. I don't know what I should do."

"Do?" The Hokage turned to face him better, reaching back to pull at his pipe and bring it around, and after a moment to light it with a quick handseal, he answered. "You should do your best to befriend him, just as you already are with the other academy students."

Naruto shrugged.

"I already am."

"Then keep at it. His course is not set in stone any easier than our own." A quick, sharp cough passed the old shinobi's lips, and he clenched down on his stomach to try and get it under-control.

"Are you okay?" Naruto questioned in concern.

Sarutobi almost told him, but the thought that Naruto would blame himself stilled the answer in his throat, and he covered the pause with another cough.

"Old man Hokage?" Naruto repeated in concern.

"I will be fine, Naruto-kun. Just old age and my pipe getting the best of these tired lungs."

A wary look passed across Naruto's face, and he squinted up at him as if trying to see something, but relented when no further coughs racked the old mans body.

"Kakashi-taicho knows about the Kyuubi's chakra, but he also said something about me having too much Sage chakra, too," he said, remembering the conversation with the Copy Cat Ninja.

The Hokage arched an eyebrow. "Really? I did not expect you to demonstrate your Sage Mode so casually around him," he said.

"That's the thing; I didn't. He just scanned my coils, and he saw it then. I'm not supposed to have senjutsu chakra available until I reach for it from the environment!"

Sarutobi stood up. "Try to enter your Sage Mode now, Naruto. Do not gather energy from around you, but reach from within as if you were trying to mold chakra for any other ninjustu technique," he instructed firmly.

The jinchuriki closed his eyes and did so, and pulled, feeling an odd knot contract around his gut as he did so. For a moment he felt hot, as if he were channeling too much, but a sudden awareness suffused him shortly thereafter, and when he opened his eyes he could feel the usual effects he associated with the ability.

"Did it work?" He asked. The Hokage wore a bemused expression, but he nodded.

"So it did."

* * *

Two weeks after their departure, three figures approached the gates of Konoha at a leisurely stride, two of them hauling a palanquin across their shoulders while the third relaxed comfortably therein. A short distance behind them a handful of servants hurried to match the shinobi's pace, red-faced and panting with exhaustion.

Normally they would have held together as a group, but the closer they grew to the Hidden Village of the Leaf, the quicker Asuma Sarutobi's feet stamped down upon the soil beneath them, as if his body was at odds with his mind - he dreaded coming back to Konoha and speaking with his father, but he knew that he could not hang back and let their already dwindling time vanish altogether.

There were matters that had to see resolution, and he had no doubts that they were going to within the first hours of reunion. What those matters were however were in part the issue behind his reluctance.

Now it was almost too late.

The moment he set foot inside the border, he could no longer excuse avoiding the subject, as he had been able to all these years.

The guardsmen halted the palanquin to verify who they were, and while Chiraku handed over the papers, and the Fire Daimyo leaned out of the door and stretched. "Ah, Konoha," the old bureaucrat said warmly, looking up at the still-closed gates.

He climbed the rest of the way and turned to watch his servants rush up at last, gasping, and hunch over to catch their breaths. A raised eyebrow was directed toward Asuma, who shrugged in response once he realized he was being stared at.

"Time was of the essence, Daimyo-sama," he added mildly when the other eyebrow rose as well.

"Indeed," the Fire Damyo agreed as the last servant caught up, slumping over on his knees and one hand. "I think I shall walk the rest of the way, Sarutobi-kun - your pace has set these old bones to aching."

Asuma had the reserve to look abashed and offer an apology, which was in turn waved aside with a soft, "No matter, no matter."

A moment later the guardsmen handed the papers back to Chiraku and turned to bow formally to the elder man, then hurried to open the gate for them to enter.

The two shinobi hefted the palanquin again and waited for the Fire Daimyo to precede them in.

Twenty minutes ticked by as they entered the forest and soon emerged into the village center, the servants having eventually recovered and formed a surrounding circle around the three of them to fend off citizens gawking at the unexpected and relatively-unknown procession.

As they carried on, one or two Jounin passing by paused and did a double-take at Asuma, despite his hair mostly hanging down in his eyes. The Sarutobi heir quietly groaned every time they did so, recognizing men and women he had known, and the friendships he had abandoned to go his own way.

He was not anticipating a warm welcome once he was through talking with his father.

"Isn't it beautiful, Sarutobi-kun? Chiraku-kun?" The Fire Daimyo interrupted his thoughts, sweeping one arm out around them and staring in particularly fondly upon the Hokage Monument far ahead and above.

The shinobi monk answered him with a firm nod of the head, while Asuma paused to look up.

For a long moment he held his tongue, seeing beyond the past and taking a silent note of the slight changes in the district they were in compared to the last time he had been through it. "It is, sir." He said honestly.

The old bureaucrat nodded to himself, satisfied the distraction had worked.

**End Chapter 25.**


End file.
